Biomarkers are biological indicators of a patient's condition that guide our mission to improve cancer care
About this Theme
Alterations in tumor DNA occur during malignant development and include epigenetic features affecting gene expression and regulation by non-coding (micro)RNAs. These changes may ultimately cause defects in the expression and function of proteins and drive oncogenesis.
Tumor cells do not act in isolation, so alterations in immune function, metabolism and the microbiome are also informative. This knowledge, when correlated with clinical parameters, can be translated into practical assays that can, for example, enable the early detection of cancer in biofluids (liquid biopsies) or guide clinical cancer management by monitoring treatment response.
Key Strengths
The theme Biomarkers is unique in that it bridges knowledge gained from all other CCA programs to improve care. Most, if not all, CCA researchers are in one way or the other involved in biomarker discovery and development. The Liquid Biopsy Center collects and stores biofluids from all cancer patients that participate in cancer research involving the CCA. Samples are collected before, during and after treatment in search of non-invasive cancer biomarkers.
Research Lines
Research within the Biomarker theme focuses on all aspects of cancer care. Notable examples of clinically validated biomarkers identified by CCA research include but are not limited to early detection of cervical cancer in urine, tissue-biopsy based prediction of therapy response in colorectal cancer and blood analysis indicating the origin of a cancer.
Theme Leader
Theme Committee
Principal Investigators
- Prof. Jacques Bergman
- Prof. Johannes Berkhof
- Prof. Ronald Boellaard
- Prof. Ruud Brakenhoff
- Dr. Christianne Buskens
- Prof. Jacqueline Cloos
- Prof. Veerle Coupé
- Prof. Evelien Dekker
- Dr. Linda Douw
- Dr. Juan Garcia-Vallejo
- Dr. Elisa Giovannetti
- Dr. Pim de Graaf
- Prof. Nicole van Grieken
- Prof. Tanja de Gruijl
- Dr. Daniëlle Heideman
- Prof. Hanneke van Laarhoven
- Prof. Ton van Leeuwen
- Prof. Rosalie Luiten
- Dr. Rienk Nieuwland
- Dr. Daniela Oprea-Lager
- Dr. Roos Pouw
- Dr. Theo de Reijke
- Prof. Jaap Stoker
- Prof. Peter Vandertop
- Prof. Marc van de Vijver
- Dr. André Vis
- Dr. Jan van Weering
- Prof. Pieter Wesseling
- Prof. Mark van de Wiel
- Prof. Bert Windhorst
- Prof. Bauke Ylstra