Prof. K. Haustermans

The Department of Oncologyhouses several laboratoriesinvolved in cancer research. It has a very strong link with

the clinical division of Oncologyand Haematology and the

Leuven Cancer Institute (LKI). The department aims at a close

interaction between the clinicand more fundamental research

(from bench to bedside an back).As such, it scientifically

supports the Care Programmeactivities within its division and

the Leuven Cancer Institute(LKI). Moreover, the department

ensures high-quality training andresearch programmes

from the bachelor ‘s to the postgraduate level, including

the bi-annual organization of the Oncoforum.

Group Biomedical Sciences

Department of Oncology

I Research profile

Our department interacts closely with the clinicand focuses its activities on translationalresearch. Results from fundamental researchare implemented in the clinical practice, and,conversely, findings in the clinical practice arefurther investigated at the molecular level.Various patient samples are made available to us including blood, biopsies, and tumourresections. We also have well-established collaborations with the pharmaceutical industryfor testing of novel drugs, primarily signaltransduction inhibitors, and anti-tumour and/orradiosensitizing agents. We perform the testingboth in vitro, on various cell lines, and in vivo,mainly on xenograft mouse models.

I Keywords

Breast cancer - colorectal cancer - gastrointestinal stromal tumours - sarcomas -head and neck cancer - prostate cancer -myelodysplasia - lymphoma - leukaemia -myeloma - translational research - molecularmechanisms for tumour formation and progression - drug action - drug resistance -radioresistance - radiosensitization - prognostic and predictive markers -(epi)genetic instability - paraffin blocks - biopsy - xenograft - signal transductioninhibitors - colony assay - tissue microarray -methylation-specific PCR - immunohisto-

chemistry - microsatellite instability - promoter methylation - response to therapy -gene expression array - human multipotentadult progenitor cells - image guided radiation therapy - hadrontherapy.

I Divisions

EXPERIMENTAL RADIOTHERAPY• The prognostic and predictive value of

DNA microsatellite alterations and promoterhypermethylation in head- and neck tumours

• The role of MAPK and COX-2 pathways in the treatment of colorectal tumours withEGF receptor or COX-2 inhibitors

• The fatty acid synthesis pathway as targetfor radiosensitization in prostate cancer

• Early prediction of response to therapythrough functional imaging: from animalmodels to patients

• Correlation of clinical outcome withmicroarray results in glioblastoma

• Cone-beam CT based monitoring ofanatomical variation and cumulativedosimetry in fractionated radiotherapy

• The use of deformable image registrationtechniques in radiation therapy

• Advanced breast irradiation• Hadron therapy planning• 3D brachytherapy

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EXPERIMENTAL ONCOLOGY• Validation of signal transduction inhibitors

as anti-cancer agents: confirmation of concept in nude mouse models

• Imatinib in the treatment of gastrointestinaltumours: mechanisms of action and resistance

• Novel HDAC and Hsp90 inhibitors for the treatment of various sarcomas

• Testing of new anticancer drugs and response evaluation through microPET scan

HAEMATOLOGY• Study of the role of the immune system

in the pathogenesis of myelodysplasticsyndromes

• Study of the differentiation capacity ofhuman multipotent adult progenitor cells(MAPC) towards the hematopoietic lineage(in collaboration with the Stem Cell InstituteLeuven)

• Comparison of different imaging techniquesfor patients with multiple myeloma and lymphoma (in collaboration with the Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine)

• Exploration of new transplant techniquesfor hematological malignancies

• Analysis of gene expression and genomicDNA changes in lymphoma tissues (in col-laboration with department of Pathology)

ONCOLOGICAL SURGERY• Preoperative posterior wall irradiation

for retroperitoneal sarcomas• Soft tissue toxicity in the limb after isolated

perfusion with TNF-Melphalan• Correlation between gene expression

and prognosis in liposarcoma• Database malignant melanoma: gene

expression and prognosis• Cytogenetics of familial and multiple

melanomas• Comparative study on subcutaneous

venous access systems for chemotherapyand nursing aspects

• Pilot study on clearance of catheter thrombosis with microplasmin

• Clinical trials on vaccination therapy for high risk melanomas

MULTIDISCIPLINARY BREAST CENTRE• The prognostic and predictive value of

circulating tumour cells in breast cancer• The prognostic value of circulating matrix

metalloproteinases (MMPs) in breast cancer

• The role of MMP gene nucleotide polymorphism in breast cancer

• The diagnostic value of serum uPA isoforms for breast cancer

I Unique infrastructure

• LAS-3000 chemiluminescence imager fromFujiFilm, with Aida image analyzer softwarefrom Raytest

• HellmaTray fibre optics cell for measurementof small sample volumes in a standardspectrophotometer

• Two-head Olympus CH 30 teaching microscope with Olympus Cell D imageanalyzer software

• Tissue microarrayer• ColCount colony counter from Oxford

Optronix Ltd• FACS Ventage and FACS Canto• MCNPX Monte Carlo simulation cluster• Orthovolt machine for radiation of cell

cultures and animals

I Collaboration and users

• European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)

• HOVON (Hematologie voor VolwassenenNederland/België)

• Connective Tissue Cancer Network to integrate European experience in adultsand children (Conticanet)

• European Cancer Proteases Consortium • BIOCARE (Molecular imaging for

Biologically Optimised Cancer Therapy)• GENEPI (Genetic pathways for

the prediction of the effect of radiation-European normal tissue bank and database).

• Pharmaceutical industry: Novartis, Pfizer,Bayer, PharmaMar, Janssen Pharmaceutica,Wyett, Schering, BMS, Amgen, Roche, CAF

• Varian: Chair in Radiobiology• UCL IMRE, Prof. Dr. V. Gregoire and

collaborators• Ludwig Institute, Prof. Dr. T. Boon• UCLA, Prof. Dr. W. McBride Vice Chair

for Research, Dept. Radiation Oncology David Geffen School for Medicine

• NKI Amsterdam, Division of Experimental Therapy, Prof. Dr. AC. Begg

• National Cancer Institute, USA, Prof. Dr. L. Staudt

I Contact

Department of OncologyCampus Gasthuisberg

Herestraat 49 - P.O.Box 7003B-3000 Leuven

I Figures

Senior academic staff: 23Postdoctoral fellows: 2Researchers / PhDs: 16Visiting scientists: 2

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