Radiation-oncologist Rick Haas appointed professor at Leiden University

Rick Haas will investigate new treatments that could cause less short and long term side effects while maintaining efficacy  such as radiation therapy schedules with different. fractionation sizes or total dosages, or combinations of radiotherapy with both new and existing drugs.

Due to the imposed  treatment toxicities, the patients' quality of life and patient reported outcomes will play an important role in his research.

Another  interesting aspect of his research chair is a collaboration with the Holland Proton Therapy Centre (HPTC). Here,  the value of proton beam therapy  with concomitant hyperthermia in sacral chordomas will be studied.

Rick is looking forward to further collaboration with the LUMC sarcoma tumour work group. "The bridge we have built between Amsterdam and Leiden will result in enhancing  our knowledge about the effects of radiation therapy on sarcomas in order to further improve our patients' well-being."