The first discussions about creating an institute where ‘patients suffering from malignant growths’ could be treated took place in March 1913. The institute should also offer facilities for ‘a special study of cancer and related diseases’. The initiators were J. Rotgans, professor of Surgery, J.H. de Bussy, publisher, and W.M. de Vries, professor of Pathology.
The inaugural meeting on October 10, 1913 was attended by sixteen prominent figures from the medical world and from Amsterdam society. Immediately after the Society The Netherlands Cancer Institute was established, a large-scale national fund-raising campaign was initiated. Regional committees were set up, and professor Rotgans went on a lecture tour throughout the country, addressing the committees and spreading his enthusiasm for the project. And with success: by May 1914, 315,000 guilders (€ 142,940) – an enormous amount in those days – had been collected.
Part of the money was invested in a temporary location on one of the canals in Amsterdam, 206 Keizersgracht, which was called the ‘Antoni van Leeuwenhoek House’. The clinic had room for 17 patients, while the lab could house 8-10 workers. Cooperation between laboratory and clinic was given a high priority right from the start: the heads of both departments received written instructions to work together as closely as possible.
Exploration of new fields of research started in 1916. While the first patients were treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, scientists in the laboratory were trying to culture human tumor tissue in vitro. Cooperation with cancer researchers at home and abroad has always been seen as an essential component in order to keep up with the latest developments in oncology. The institute held its first international meeting, attended by 13 Dutch researchers and 10 from abroad, in 1922.
Shortage of space is a recurrent topic in the history of the Institute. In 1929, the Institute moved into the old Military Hospital on the Sarphatistraat. The new accommodation had enough space to expand the research activities, headed by professors Wassink, Waterman and Korteweg. Korteweg started experiments with mice in 1931. The mice were shipped from the Jackson Memorial Laboratory by the Holland-America line and housed on the attic of the Institute. Great improvements in radiotherapy were introduced by dr. Daniël den Hoed in the 1930’s.
During World War II scientific research made little progress due to shortage of chemicals and equipment and because employees were arrested and sent to prison camps. There was no heating and food for the mice. At a certain moment the mice were taken to private homes to be looked after.
In the years after the war Waterman realized that cancer research involved many disciplines in physics, chemistry and biology including areas as diverse as atom-physics, organic chemistry and genetics. This led to further expansion of the Institute in these areas under the supervision of professor Mühlbock and later by professor Emmelot.
This expansion led again to shortage of space. In 1959, it was decided to build a new hospital and laboratory at the present location in a newly developed suburb west of Amsterdam center. Construction of the new laboratory building and a large animal facility started in 1976, and was completed in 1979. Having a modern building with state of the art equipment could not prevent that the Institute gradually lost it’s prominent scientific position. It was the chairman of the Board of Directors, Van den Beugel, together with clinician and immunologist Rümke how contracted Piet Borst as new scientific director. Piet Borst terminated unsuccessful research lines and recruited new scientists like Hidde Ploegh, Anton Berns, Cees Melief and Ronald Plasterk. An open en collaborative atmosphere was created modeled onto American top institutes. The Institute flourished and became again a center of excellence. In 1999 Piet Borst stepped down as Scientific Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors and was followed by Anton Berns.