As a hematologist I am always looking for new development that might improve patient care. My main research focus is on patients with Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma. I am involved in both translational and clinical studies. In cooperation with the Pathology, I am active in the field of biomarkers, such as TARC in Hodgkin lymphoma. For the design, development and execution of clinical trials, I am an active member of both international (EORTC) and national (HOVON) organizations. For example, I am the national PI of the EORTC COBRA trial in Hodgkin lymphoma. Moreover, I am co-PI of the translational research in two international trials. In addition, I am part of the Dutch guideline writing committee for Hodgkin lymphoma. In myeloma, I am investigating innovative treatment options to improve outcome.
Clinical and molecular analyses identified risk factors for MZL transformation and revealed that transformed MZL frequently acquires features of germinal center B cells. Multi-omics approaches showed only subtle genomic and transcriptomic changes during transformation. Across subtypes, ctDNA emerged as a promising non-invasive biomarker for diagnosis, prognosis, and disease monitoring. In PTLD, ctDNA profiling revealed recurrent genetic alterations and closely reflected tumor characteristics and guide treatment decisions.
In R/R DLBCL, a high ctDNA tumor fraction was associated with poor prognosis. Persistent ctDNA mutations or copy number alterations provided complementary diagnostic value when combined with PET-CT, supporting their integrated use in assessing disease progression and guiding treatment decisions.
Together, these findings underscore ctDNA as a clinically informative biomarker across aggressive B-cell lymphoma subtypes, with potential to improve risk stratification and therapeutic guidance.