About Dr. İlyas Şahin
Dr. Ilyas Sahin is a medical oncologist based in Boston in the United States, serving at Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the world’s leading hospitals, and a faculty member (Assistant Professor) at Harvard Medical School.
In his clinical practice he focuses especially on liver, stomach, esophageal and pancreatic cancers, while his research covers all solid tumors (including lung, breast, prostate, colorectal and other cancers), working on next-generation cancer drugs and early-phase clinical trials.
- Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
- Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies and Center for GI Cancers, MGH
- US board certification in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology
- Graduate of Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine; sees patients in Turkish and English
- Kanserle Savaşta Kontrol Sizde (in Turkish) — author
Academic résumé
Dr. Ilyas Sahin is a medical oncologist based in Boston in the United States, serving at Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the world’s leading hospitals, and a faculty member (Assistant Professor) at Harvard Medical School.
In his clinical practice he focuses especially on liver, stomach, esophageal and pancreatic cancers, while his research covers all solid tumors (including lung, breast, prostate, colorectal and other cancers), working on next-generation cancer drugs and early-phase clinical trials.
Dr. Ilyas Sahin completed his medical degree at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine. He then completed his residency training in internal medicine followed by fellowship training in hematology and medical oncology in the United States, and holds US board certification in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology.
He founded this site to communicate advances in cancer treatment in Turkish, in plain and understandable language. He is the author of the book Kanserle Savaşta Kontrol Sizde (in Turkish); he sees patients in Turkish and English.
Academic and clinical interests
- Liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma): Patient care from diagnosis through first-line treatment and advanced disease.
- Stomach and esophageal cancers: Current treatment approaches in upper gastrointestinal cancers.
- Bile duct and gallbladder cancers: Treatment options, including clinical trials of new drugs.
- Liver metastases: Treatment of tumors that have spread to the liver from other organs.
- Early-phase (Phase 1) drug research: First clinical trials of targeted therapies and immunotherapies in solid tumors.
- Immunotherapy and resistance mechanisms: Understanding why tumors do not respond to treatment and how to overcome this.
- Personalized oncology: Selecting treatment based on the molecular features of the tumor.
- Patient education and Turkish-language resources: Communicating scientific advances in plain, accurate Turkish.
Board certifications
American Board of Internal Medicine: Internal Medicine · Hematology · Medical Oncology. He sees patients in Turkish and English.
Clinical trials
- COMPANION-002 (NCT05506943): A Phase 2/3 trial comparing CTX-009 + paclitaxel with paclitaxel alone in second-line advanced biliary tract cancer. Principal investigator of the University of Florida site.
- Northstar Response ctDNA study: A prospective observational study monitoring treatment response via tumor DNA in the blood in advanced gastrointestinal cancers; an analysis of 73 patients was presented at ASCO GI 2025.
- NP-101 Phase 1 study: The NP-101 study in liver cancer patients who are not surgical candidates and have received Y-90 therapy; supported by a $252,219 grant from the Florida Cancer Innovation Fund (2023–24).
Awards, grants, and memberships
- Florida state research grant (2023–24): For the NP-101 Phase 1 liver cancer study under the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program.
- Research Showcase award, mentor (2024): At UF Health Cancer Center Research Showcase 2024, a student poster he mentored won an award in its category for a study evaluating how well artificial intelligence answers oncology patients’ questions.
- Faculty Opinions (H1 Connect) member: Has been an “Associate” member since 2019, reviewing notable scientific papers.
Career
- 2003–2011Hacettepe Üniversitesi Tıp FakültesiDoctor of Medicine (MD)
- 2012–2014Dana-Farber Cancer Institute / Harvard Medical SchoolPostdoctoral researcher; multiple myeloma and the tumor microenvironment
- 2014–2015Montefiore Medical Center / Albert Einstein College of MedicineInternal medicine internship
- 2015–2017Mount Auburn HospitalInternal medicine residency
- 2017–2020Brown University / Rhode Island HospitalHematology and medical oncology fellowship; research on 3D tissue engineering models
- 2020–2021Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown UniversityAssistant Professor of Medicine; Lifespan Cancer Institute
- 2021–2024University of Florida, UF Health Cancer CenterAssistant Professor, division of hematology and oncology
- Ağustos 2024–Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolMedical oncologist and Phase 1 oncologist; Termeer Center and Center for GI Cancers
Academic publication summary
2.900+
citations, Google Scholar (October 2026)
Scopus: 1,734 citations, 69 documents, h-index 21 · ResearchGate: 115 publications