Research into ovarian cancer continues thanks to Teuny’s legacy

Teuny van Wijgerden passed away in 2022 after being diagnosed with metastatic ovarian cancer in 2018. During her illness she read up on all the research and treatment options that were available for her. Sadly, Teuny could only receive palliative care but her last wish was to make a financial contribution to cancer research. To ensure that in the future women with ovarian cancer can hopefully receive the treatments that came too late for Teuny herself.

Her life partner Gertjan de Gier ensures that her wish comes true and that Teuny is not forgotten. The donation that Teuny made to the AVL Foundation through her estate, enables the NKI to continue studies researching double minute chromosomes. These are known to commonly occur in ovarian cancer. It is also known that double minutes can lead to the development of resistance to cancer treatments. The research group, which is led by René Medema, will carry out screenings for genes that are essential to the survival of cell lines with double minutes. The role of these genes will then be investigated in cell lines and organoids from ovarian tumors with double minutes.

Read more (in Dutch) about the donations through legacies and trusts in the 2022 annual report.