“A treatment type for patients with advanced metastatic non-small cell lung cancer is immunotherapy with PD1 inhibitors. About 30 percent of patients respond well to this treatment, which unfortunately means that the majority of them undergo a treatment that doesn’t work effectively. Other than the costs, this treatment can be quite intense and may lead to side effects. That’s why I wanted to find tumor markers, specific biological traits in the patient, that could help us predict someone’s likelihood of a positive response of the treatment. In the Pathology Department, we can now use a computer algorithm to identify a specific group of immune cells surrounding the tumor in very thin slices of tissue. If we find large numbers of these immune cells, known as tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), we expect that the treatment will be effective. If we find few or none, a physician can now opt for a different kind of treatment much earlier, and now also sooner, another treatment option. I’m happy that I can contribute to a better diagnosis leading to personalized treatment. I lost my own mother to breast cancer when I was younger, so I know how important this is."
Karlijn Hummelink is currently training as a pathologist at Amsterdam UMC. She will defend her thesis on November 12.
Research at the Netherlands Cancer Institute is financially supported by KWF Dutch Cancer Society.
prof. dr. G.A. Meijer & prof. dr. E.F. Smit
K. Monkhorst & dr. D.S. Thommen