BMC Seminar Thursday September 21st at 12:00 in Fróði auditorium, Sturlugata 8
Speakers: Dr. Wilma Mesker, Associate professor at the Department of Surgery, and head of Biobanking, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, Netherlands.
Prof. Dr. Rob AEM Tollenaar, Professor of surgical oncology, Head of the department of Surgery, LUMC, Leiden; Cofounder and Chair of the Dutch Institute for Clinical Auditing (DICA), Netherlands.
Title: Improvement of cancer diagnosis and treatment; view from the clinic
Abstract: New parameters are necessary to aid medical specialists in the field of oncology in early detecting and better selecting patients for therapy. Colon cancer (CC), as taken as example in this presentation, is the second most common cancer in Europe, affecting approximately 447,136 people, with men having a higher risk than women. Early diagnosis reduces disease-related mortality. The number of patients diagnosed annually is increasing, because of ageing of the population and a small increase in incidence at all ages. It is therefore expected that population screening programs will become more relevant. The sensitivity and specificity of the various available biomarker tests varies from 52% to 97%, respectively. Evidently, of the patients initially diagnosed with CC, only 25-35% are not selected adequately for chemotherapy and 60% do not benefit this treatment. Methods for optimal selection of patients who benefit from extensive treatment schedules are strongly needed, both from the individual aspect of preventing needless burden of toxicity, Quality of Life (QoL) as from a population-based aspect of optimal cost-effectiveness leading to reduced costs in treatment modalities, patients health care and economic costs. Better patient stratification after surgical intervention on CC, and precision medicine for treatment, will result in personalized treatment with better outcomes. Since the incidence of CC is continuously increasing due to aging of the population this will have a major impact on society.
Dr. Wilma Mesker is associate professor at the Department of Surgery, LUMC, Leiden and head Biobanking. Her research field relates to the development and application of novel technology in different translational fields in cancer screening to study the molecular composition of cells and chromosomes. She has expertise in diagnostic and prognostic factors in colon-, pancreatic- and breast cancer within the field of proteomics and tumor-stromal interactions, minimal residual disease in bone marrow and lymph nodes.
Prof. Dr. R.A.E.M. Tollenaar is head of the Department of Surgery, and head division 1, LUMC. In this position he is responsible for patient care, education and research within the surgical oncology field. Apart from the clinical ward the section has three outpatient clinics, all located in the LUMC: Surgical Oncology, Breast Cancer and Hereditary Breast Cancer Outpatient Clinic with 2320, 1200 and 552 visits respectively per year. Prof. Tollenaar is an expert on hereditary breast cancer and participates in the national working party on hereditary breast cancer (HEBON). Colorectal cancer and breast cancer are the areas of prof. Tollenaar’s expertise. His expertise is in diagnostic and prognostic factors in colon-, pancreatic- and breast cancer within the field of proteomics and tumor-stromal interactions. He is president of the scientific committee of the Dutch Surgical Colorectal Audit (DSCA).