Van Laarhoven upperGI cancer group

Research aims

Van Laarhoven is a staunch advocate of interdisciplinarity, as is evidenced by her two masters - in Medicine and Theology (both cum laude), as well as her two PhDs - in Medical Oncology (cum laude) and Religious Studies. In her quest for new, better treatment options for cancer patients, she seeks collaboration with both the sciences and the humanities. She supervising PhD students, post-docs and research assistants from different backgrounds, such as medicine, biology, artificial intelligence, humanities, and psychology.

Hanneke van Laarhoven

hanneke van laarhoven by marlou pulles

Photo by Marlou Pulles

Van Laarhoven’s translational research focuses on gastrointestinal cancer, specifically esophagogastric and pancreatic cancer. From the very beginning of her career, she has been intrigued by the possibility to elucidate tumour biology in vivoand non-invasively and she has developed a unique research line at the crossroads of medical oncology, radiology/nuclear medicine, and tumour biology. Her group investigates the interplay between tumour cells and stromal cells, with a specific focus on the development of treatment resistance and possible implications for novel therapies. To facilitate this research, she invested in the creation of a large biobank with tumour and blood samples as well as patient derived cell lines and organoids of the patients under study.

She is leading several multi-centre investigator initiated clinical trials which include substantial correlative biomarker work. Furthermore, she is one of the founding mothers of a prospective database for the collection of real world clinical data and patient reported outcomes of patients with esophagogastric cancer (www.pocop.nl) and pancreatic cancer (www.pacap.nl). Additional research initiatives include studies regarding quality of life, shared decision making and spiritual care (https://cco.amsterdamumc.org).

Group members

Research assistents:

  • Evelien van Alphen
  • Cecile Baartman
  • Lois Bastiaans
  • Monique van Mourik

PostDocs/senior researchers:

  • Tom van den Ende
  • Niels van Poecke
  • Rob Verhoeven

Current PhD students (of whom I am the principal supervisor):

  • Aafke Creemers
  • Dionne Blange
  • Benthe Doeve
  • Emily Evans
  • Marike Geurts
  • Jort Groen
  • Jessy Joy van Kleef
  • Maurice Kroon
  • Steven Kuijper
  • Marjolein Lansbergen
  • Dajia Liu
  • Linde Veen
  • Merel van Velzen
  • Yvonne Weeseman

    Key publications

    Fecal, Duodenal and Tumor Microbiota Composition of Esophageal Carcinoma Patients, a Longitudinal Prospective Cohort
    van den Ende T, de Clercq NC, Davids M, Goedegebuure R, Doeve BH, Ebrahimi G, Buijsen J, Hoekstra R, Mohammad NH, Bijlsma MF, Nieuwdorp M, van Laarhoven HWM.
    J Natl Cancer Inst. 2024 Jun 26:djae153.

    Assessing real-world representativeness of prospective registry cohorts in oncology: insights from patients with esophagogastric cancer
    Kuijper SC, Besseling J, Klausch T, Slingerland M, van der Zijden CJ, Kouwenhoven EA, Beerepoot LV, Mohammad NH, Klarenbeek BR, Verhoeven RHA, van Laarhoven HWM.
    J Clin Epidemiol. 2023 Dec;164:65-75.

    Claudin-18.2 targeting by zolbetuximab: results of SPOTLIGHT in perspective
    van Laarhoven HWM, Derks S.
    Lancet. 2023 May 20;401(10389):1630-1631.

    Definitions and treatment of oligometastatic oesophagogastric cancer according to multidisciplinary tumour boards in Europe
    Kroese TE, van Hillegersberg R, Schoppmann S, Deseyne PRAJ, Nafteux P,
    Obermannova R, Nordsmark M, Pfeiffer P, Hawkins MA, Smyth E, Markar S, Hanna GB, Cheong E, Chaudry A, Elme A, Adenis A, Piessen G, Gani C, Bruns CJ, Moehler M, Liakakos T, Reynolds J, Morganti A, Rosati R, Castoro C, D'Ugo D, Roviello F, Bencivenga M, de Manzoni G, Jeene P, van Sandick JW, Muijs C, Slingerland M, Nieuwenhuijzen G, Wijnhoven B, Beerepoot LV, Kolodziejczyk P, Polkowski WP, Alsina M, Pera M, Kanonnikoff TF, Nilsson M, Guckenberger M, Monig S, Wagner D, Wyrwicz L, Berbee M, Gockel I, Lordick F, Griffiths EA, Verheij M, van Rossum PSN, van Laarhoven HWM; OMEC working group.
    Eur J Cancer. 2022 Mar;164:18-29.

    Phase II Feasibility and Biomarker Study of Neoadjuvant Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab With Chemoradiotherapy for Resectable Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Positive Esophageal Adenocarcinoma: TRAP Study
    Stroes CI, Schokker S, Creemers A, Molenaar RJ, Hulshof MCCM, van der Woude SO, Bennink RJ, MathĂ´t RAA, Krishnadath KK, Punt CJA, Verhoeven RHA, van Oijen MGH, Creemers GJ, Nieuwenhuijzen GAP, van der Sangen MJC, Beerepoot LV, Heisterkamp J, Los M, Slingerland M, Cats A, Hospers GAP, Bijlsma MF, van Berge Henegouwen MI, Meijer SL, van Laarhoven HWM.
    J Clin Oncol. 2020 Feb 10;38(5):462-471.

    Contact

    Hanneke van Laarhoven: h.vanlaarhoven@amsterdamumc.nl
    Secretariat Oncology: secretariaat.oncologie@amsterdamumc.nl

    Keywords

    esophageal cancer | gastric cancer | tumor microenviroment | clinical trials | real world data | contingency