PhD defence N.A. (Nick) van Huizen

In the Netherlands colon cancer is the 3rd most frequent cancer type, with annually more than 14,000 new patients, and 5000 patients die. After surgical removal of the primary colon tumor, there is a 30-40% chance of metastasis in the liver. To detect the presence of metastasis as early as possible, the patient has to regularly visit the hospital and receives CT-scans, ultrasounds, or blood tests. This thesis had as goal to find protein fragments (peptides) in urine that are elevated in patients with a liver metastasis. If this is possible, the patient, instead of visiting the hospital, only needs to hand-in urine and blood at his general practitioner. We have successfully found peptides that are elevated in urine of patients with metastasis in the liver. These peptides are a good addition to the currently used techniques and perform similar or even slightly better than the currently used techniques to detect liver metastasis. The protein fragments found have been linked indirectly to the liver metastasis tissue. In addition, we discovered that the specific protein collagen is differently modified in tumor tissue compared to healthy tissue. This could play a role in tumor growth and also in other tumors.

The public defence will take place at the Prof. Andries Queridoroom, 3rd floor Education Center, Erasmus MC. The ceremony will begin exactly at 15.30 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.