Clinical research

The Netherlands Cancer Institute is a comprehensive cancer center in which clinical research is the crucial link between basic and translational research, and patient impact. Approximately 25% of our patients are enrolled in clinical trials. The majority of these trials are investigator-initiated, and we collaborate with numerous centers across the globe.

Our institute specializes in innovative Phase I/II trials that are often run in collaboration with our basic and translational research groups. Over the years, we have built up a large repository of patient data and a large collection of tumor tissue and healthy tissue.

NKI Patient Impact Award

Our annual Patient Impact Award was founded in 2018 by the Board of the Netherlands Cancer Institute to highlight all groundbreaking clinical innovations in our institute.

In 2020, the Patient Impact Award was won by the Advisory Board on Cancer in Pregnancy, which helps physicians in the Netherlands to reach the best possible treatment decisions for pregnant cancer patients.

Christian Blank received the 2021 Patient Impact award for his work towards neoadjuvant immunotherapy.

The Patient Impact Awards winner of 2022 was the DRUP trial team, headed by principal investigator Emile Voest. In this nationwide trial, patients with metastatic cancer who no longer have treatment options available to them, are treated with medicines that have already been on the market for other tumor types.