PhD defence L.M. (Laura) Legué

In daily practice, patients with small bowel and appendiceal cancers have historically been treated in a similar fashion as frequently encountered gastrointestinal cancers, mainly as colorectal or gastric cancer. However, the rationale for this extrapolation is not evidence-based and therefore, this thesis aimed to provide insights into clinical and pathological aspects of these two rare gastrointestinal cancers. It was shown that small bowel and appendiceal cancer both have a distinct clinical disease course, compared to other gastrointestinal cancers. Metastatic disease was common in patients with SBA, and only a minority was treated with palliative systemic treatment. An oxaliplatin-containing regimen could be a suggested frontline regimen, without the addition of the targeted agent bevacizumab. In appendiceal cancer, histologic subtype is of prognostic relevance in mainly peritoneal disease, and it is of utmost importance to classify patients with mucinous appendiceal neoplasms according to the latest proposed consensus-based classification for prognostic and treatment purposes.

The public defence will take place at the Senatehall, 1st floor of the Erasmus Building, Campus Woudestein. The ceremony will begin exactly at 11.30 hrs. In light of the solemn nature of the ceremony, we recommend that you do not take children under the age of 6 to the first part of the ceremony.