“The animal facility is a critical infrastructure for our scientific research and, as such, contributes substantially to the international reputation of our institute. In numerous studies conducted by various laboratories throughout the world, animal models have been instrumental to find out “how nature works”—and, more specifically for the Netherlands Cancer Institute, how genetic lesions drive tumor development and dictate tumor characteristics. We can now instruct the immune system to attack tumor cells, which would have been impossible without the groundbreaking studies performed in genetically modified mice. There are numerous examples of animal experiments that revealed the function of genes that we never could have obtained through in vitro analyses. Through the years, we have seen excellent cases of this, also through studies conducted by our own research groups.”
“During my career—I joined the institute in 1985 and closed my laboratory in 2020—we have contributed to the development of new techniques to genetically modify mice and used these to generate mouse models for a variety of cancers. Over the last 10 to 15 years, my research group has been looking at lung cancers. We have studied what the different genetic lesions contribute to their development, from which cells they originate, and how this affects their phenotypic characteristics and therapy response.”
I am proud of our state-of-the-art facility that has been constructed during my appointment at the NKI. It is a unique facility, still the best in the Netherlands. It allowed us to make significant contributions to the field, for which we received international recognition. Our highly experienced and motivated staff ensures that experiments are conducted under the highest standards, resulting in thorough experimental execution and optimal care for the animals while actively implementing the 3Rs: Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement. Although I am no longer involved, I remain proud of everything this facility has contributed, is contributing, and hopefully will contribute in the future.”
“The importance of animal research will not diminish. Increasingly sophisticated technologies enable the analysis of the various phases of tumor development, metastasis, and the influence of the microenvironment and the immune system within the complexity of intact organisms as never before. Understanding the way complex cell populations interact and evolve over time adds a dimension that will remain very difficult to study in vitro. At the same time, new advanced in vitro methodologies should be developed and used to replace animal experiments, once these techniques can reliably answer the question posed. Unfortunately, the pressure to fully switch to these alternative methods is concerningly high in the Netherlands. As a country, we risk disposing of an important domain of biological and biomedical research as a result. Given the unique knowledge and expertise we have aggregated at the NKI, we have to convince the government, funding agents, and the public of the importance of the animal research we do and the service we provide to external investigators.”