The Netherlands Cancer Institute

For years, former Netherlands Cancer Institute group leader Sjaak Neefjes and his current LUMC colleagues have been investigating “forgotten” chemotherapy drugs for effective cancer treatment. In their recent publication in Molecular Cancer, researchers from both the LUMC and the Netherlands Cancer Institute share their remarkable findings on the drug aclarubicin – an effective blood cancer drug used in China and Japan, but not (anymore) in the Netherlands. Aclarubicin is a member of the anthracyclines group. Antracyclines are a group of drugs given as chemotherapy for various cancers. This form of chemotherapy treatment is highly effective but also increases the risk of heart damage. Patients should therefore be treated with anthracyclines only on a limited basis, and if the cancer returns, anthracycline-based treatments are no longer an option. The search for the working mechanism of a “non-toxic” anthracycline called aclarubicin started with the 12-year-old Jeroen Krabbenbos, a boy with relapsed/refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). His family was looking for a last resort and approached Neefjes. Neefjes: “Aclarubicin was an option but was taken off the European market in 2004 because 'it didn't sell well enough.' Aclarubicin is still used in China and Japan for the treatment of AML, but it has been unclear to what extent heart failure would occur in these patients. Researcher Xiaohang Qiao from the Netherlands Cancer Institute studied various anthracyclines both in the lab and in mice. Qiao: “We focused on how these drugs eliminate cancer cells and their associated side effects. Our studies revealed that aclarubicin can be safely administrated in mice and was well-tolerated, even after prior exposure to cardiotoxic anthracycline treatment.” The researchers and the treating physician therefore contacted dr. Li in Shanghai. Dr. Li treats AML patients with aclarubicin. Thanks to the collaboration with Shanghai, the Neefjes lab gained access to data from patients who had been treated intensively with anthracyclines. The effects of different anthracyclines (including aclarubicin) could thus be compared. The main question was whether aclarubicin is an effective chemotherapy treatment that still can be used in patients with refractory AML, like the 12-year-old Koen. “Based on the data from Shanghai, it appears that about 70% of patients with relapsed/refractory AML responded to aclarubicin-based therapy, and about 30% even recovered. In the Netherlands, the 5-year survival for AML patients is currently 30%. The results of this study show that the survival rate increases to 53% if patients with relapsed/refractory AML are treated with aclarubicin! Read more about the research & find the publication at ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dKazZK77

Researchers conducting animal research to develop new therapies for cancer patients have to be aware of countless factors. Last week, experts from the Netherlands Cancer Institute as well as other institutes published a guideline in Nature Protocols in which the existing knowledge and practical experience is bundled. This offers cancer researchers and animal caretakers even better tools to ensure that their experiments run optimally. Scientists at the Netherlands Cancer Institute research the causes and treatments of cancer, in addition to developing new treatment methods. They often study (cancer) cells that grow in lab dishes (2D), or conduct analyses on 3D structures called organoids. Because cancer is a very complex disease that often involves different cell types, tissues and organs, 2D and 3D culture models fall short in certain stages of the research. That is why they also perform research with mice and rats at the Animal Facility. These animal tests are strongly regulated and require specialized knowledge. Europe has very strict rules: only if there are no other ways to answer a research question, scientists are allowed to use animals. In addition to this rule, various permits are required, as well as protocols and instructions on handling animals in research. Concerning that last factor, Els Hermans, head of the facility, has now bundled all existing knowledge and experience together with her colleagues throughout Europe in a clear guideline that offers tools for anyone working with lab animals in cancer research. “With this step-by-step plan, everyone has all the information required to track animals very accurately,” she says. “This allows them to see which effects they can expect from the tumor growth in advance, how they can detect them, and what they should do next.” Read more about the publication ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eHZCU8it

Does physical exercise help counteract the effects of nerve damage after chemotherapy? Researcher Martijn M. Stuiver from the Netherlands Cancer Institute is going to figure it out together with his colleagues. Today, the Dutch Cancer Society KWF Kankerbestrijding has awarded a large grant that will make this possible. "There is evidence that exercise might help, but the available studies are too limited to apply in practice." Chemotherapy kills cancer cells but can also damage nerves. This is called neuropathy, which involves pain, tingling, and numbness. And problems with the strength and control of your muscles. Neuropathy that does not spontaneously recover after treatment can greatly affect the daily life of (former) patients. “There are few treatment options for neuropathy,” says Martijn Stuiver, researcher, epidemiologist, and former physical therapist. “The effects of medication are limited, and these drugs have side effects. Therefore, we would like to find out if people could benefit from guided physical exercise. We hope it will reduce their symptoms and the impact of those symptoms, and improve their quality of life, such that it outweighs the cost of the exercise program.” Meet Martijn Stuiver in this video portrait & read more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gnyPGPk9 #survivorship #NKI #cancerresearch #neuropathy #KWF

🔬Why do your cells behave very differently, surely they all have the same DNA? Scientist Fred van Leeuwen explains why. At the Netherlands Cancer Institute, he strips down DNA in search of new cancer treatments. #NKI #hetAVL #cancerresearch #cancer #epigenetics

Thanks to all donors to Dutch Cancer Society KWF Kankerbestrijding NKI researcher Marleen Kok and her team received 4.1 million euros for large-scale international research into forgoing chemotherapy in women with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer. The study will investigate whether we can safely forgo chemotherapy in women with many immune cells around their tumors, as this indicates an excellent prognosis. Marleen received this amazing cheque from Dorine Manson, head of the Dutch Cancer Society. Dorine: "This research closely aligns with our own goals: better treatments and better quality of life for patients during and after their treatment. We will follow this research with great interest." In this new trial, patients can decide whether they want to receive chemotherapy after surgery in collaboration with their physician. The researchers will follow 490 women and will measure their quality of life through questionnaires. The study will show whether immune cells are a reliable indicator when deciding whether to provide chemotherapy. Read more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gXPS3gJu #research #funding #cancerresearch #breastcancer #trial

Renowned life sciences organization EMBO, the European Molecular Biology Organization, has elected our group leader Jacco van Rheenen as a new member. He was selected for EMBO’s membership among 120 new additions. “I am truly privileged to be elected as an EMBO member. This recognition reflects the dedication and hard work of my team over the past decade and a half in the field of cancer research. It acknowledges our collective efforts and inspires us to continue pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery.” Jacco will join a long list of group leaders from the Netherlands Cancer Institute that are active EMBO members. EMBO membership recognizes a scientist’s research excellence and outstanding achievements. Each year, the existing community of EMBO members selects new researchers for this lifelong honor. “EMBO plays a pivotal role in fostering collaboration and innovation in the life sciences. Being part of this esteemed community not only enhances our research capabilities but also allows us to contribute to and benefit from the collective knowledge and advancements in our field. This membership will undoubtedly support our mission to uncover new insights into cancer biology.” Jacco’s research group at the Netherlands Cancer Institute and Oncode Institute studies the identity, behavior, and fate of cells that drive the initiation and progression of cancer. These populations of cells are rare, and their behavior (e.g. migration) and traits (e.g. stemness) change over time. #cancerresearch #embo #biology #membership

Research into a completely new treatment for cancer is difficult to finance. For breakthroughs, researchers need funds -, like the funds that Marc Wiewel raises for research into metastatic prostate cancer. He visited nuclear medicine physician and radiotherapist Wouter Vogel at the NKI. More ➡️https://lnkd.in/eATTGVrv

🎉Joren Brunekreef of NKI’s Adaptive Radiotherapy group has been awarded a AiNed XS Europa funding for save deployment of AI foundation models. The project centers around the development of a method that can partially address the problem of distribution shift. The accuracy and reliability of AI models can decrease when such models are applied to datasets that are slightly different from those that were used for training the model. This is a well-known issue that is commonly referred to as "distribution shift". For example, an AI model that was trained to detect tumors in MRI scans originating from one hospital may not perform equally well on scans that were acquired in another hospital that uses different MRI scanning equipment. Brunekreef: “I aim to leverage the internal data representations that are generated by so-called "foundation models": neural networks that have been pre-trained on large and diverse datasets, without the need for labels. The core idea of the proposed method is to find transformations that can undo the distribution shift in these internal data representations. If the approach is successful, it may enable foundation models to transfer their knowledge more reliably between different datasets.” The National Growth Fund programme AiNed from the NWO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) (Dutch Research Council) allows promising ideas and innovative and speculative initiatives in the artificial intelligence domain to be explored. The projects are designed in collaboration with at least one European collaborative partner organization. With this funding of 80K euros, CWI will launch the following project in collaboration with Universiteit Gent and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. #NKI #cancerresearch #ai #artificialintelligence #datasets Amsterdam AI

Patients with triple negative breast cancer who have a high number of immune cells in their tumor face a more positive survival rate, even without chemotherapy. A new study by the research group of Marleen Kok emphasizes that these immune cells, known as tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), are crucial in predicting recovery. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive form that grows and metastasizes quickly, affecting 2,000 to 3,000 women annually in the Netherlands. Unlike other forms, TNBC does not respond to hormone therapy, making treatment challenging. Nearly all TNBC patients receive chemotherapy, which has significant side effects, including potential impacts on fertility and long-term health. However, some patients with high TILs in their tumors show excellent prognoses. These immune cells attack cancer cells directly, offering a strong survival advantage. Physician researcher Veerle Geurts explains, “Our study shows that patients with stage I TNBC and high TILs might not need chemotherapy. The survival rate for these patients is exceptionally high, making chemotherapy's side effects less justifiable.” Using data from the Dutch Cancer Registry (IKNL (Integraal Kankercentrum Nederland)), researchers analyzed tissue from 1,041 patients diagnosed between 2005 and 2015 who did not receive chemotherapy. The findings are promising: women with TILs over 30% have a 96% ten-year survival rate, compared to 87% for those with fewer immune cells. In patients with pT1c-tumors and TILs over 75%, survival reaches 98.3%. Medical oncologist Marleen Kok notes, “For many TNBC patients, standard chemotherapy is over-treatment. We are starting a clinical trial to see if high TIL patients can safely skip chemotherapy, potentially improving their quality of life.” More ➡️ https://lnkd.in/evjYh7Mc #BreastCancer #Research #NKI #TILs #CancerResearch #Science #Chemotherapy

"𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬!" "During my internship at the Gynecology department, my supervisor asked if I would be interested in PhD research. That would make her my co-promotor. I wasn’t sure at first, but I never regretted my decision. My research focused on ovarian cancer. I compared a new tumor marker, HE4, with the tumor marker that we often use today. A tumor marker is a substance that can be used to detect the presence of cancer in the blood. Approximately 50% of patients identified by the old tumor marker turned out to have benign tumors, compared to only about 20% of patients identified by the new marker. Roughly the same number of cancer patients were correctly referred to an oncology hospital, which shows that HE4 is much more precise. I was very happy when the computer displayed these results in a beautiful curve. It was all worth it. I had to take out maternity leave twice during my PhD, and asked my colleagues to continue recruiting patients. When I returned from my leave, I found a huge stack of envelopes waiting for me. It was wonderful to see how involved everyone was! I am now working as a junior doctor in the internal medicine department at Dijklander Hospital in Purmerend." Pien Lof will defend her thesis on July 3 ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eKhTRuYE #hetAVL #NKI #phd #phdlife #phdstudent #phdjourney #thesis #dissertation #thesisdefense