Interplay between cancer and coagulation

Our aims

The presence of a malignancy enhances the risk of VTE 7 fold compared to the general population, and VTE is the second leading cause of death in cancer patients. In addition, therapeutic treatment in the form of chemotherapy and radiation further enhance this risk. When VTE occurs in cancer patients, cancer treatment is often halted. We aim to investigate how cancer and its treatment lead to VTE and to identify biomarkers that may serve as risk prediction markers for cancer-associated VTE. More specifically we;

• determine which clinical parameters, genes and proteins are associated with VTE in colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, renal cell carcinoma and brain cancer using patient cohorts,
• study how cancer treatment affects VTE risk using cellular and preclinical models,
• develop new organ-on-a-chip platforms and cellular models for studying the etiology of cancer-associated VTE

A second research line entails the impact of (hyper)coagulability on cancer progression. Using patient data, cellular models and preclinical models we study the role of single coagulation factors, but also VTE, in tumor growth and metastasis. Particularly, we study;

• clinical parameters and tumor characteristics involved in coagulation-dependent tumor progression in patient cohorts
• the role of blood coagulation factors ‘tissue factor’ and ‘factor VIIa’ in tumor progression and cancer stem cell behaviour
• effects of coagulation factor inhibitors on tumor progression.

This multidisciplinary preclinical approach should eventually lead to new potential treatments to reduce the risk of cancer-associated VTE and novel coagulation factor-based therapies to combat cancer.

(Inter)national position

Our research is nationally and internationally recognized. We collaborate within the Dutch Thrombosis Network and more specifically with research groups at the Amsterdam UMC. Further, we have international ties with groups in Aarhus, Cincinnati, Mainz, Tromsø and Vienna. Our international visibility is further reflected by high impact publications in journals such as Blood, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA (PNAS), Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Chest, Blood and Annals of Internal Medicine.

In the last 5 years, our research was funded by Horizon Europe, the Dutch Cancer Society. Worldwide Cancer Research, Health Holland and the Maag Darm Lever Stichting.