Winan van Houdt

Since 2017, I have been working as a surgeon-oncologist at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. As a surgeon, I have focused on the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas, GIST tumors and desmoid tumors (fibromatosis), as well as melanomas, squamous cell carcinomas of the skin and other rarer tumors.

Together with the specialized sarcoma team of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, I treat soft tissue sarcomas in all parts of the body, including arms and legs, abdomen, chest wall and retroperitoneal tumors, and with the melanoma and skin team all melanomas and other skin tumors, often in a more advanced stage. I am currently chairman of the sarcoma team at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, I am on the executive board of the surgery department and I coordinate the care for rare cancers throughout the hospital.

Many patients we see in our sarcoma and melanoma team are relatively young, which is why I am always closely involved in the care of AYAs (adolescents and young adults) and I have a guest appointment at the children's oncology center Princess Máxima in Utrecht. After my surgical training at UMC Utrecht and the Netherlands Cancer Institute, I further specialized in sarcomas in some of the best oncology hospitals in the world in Milan, Toronto and New York with a KWF clinical fellowship. After that, I worked as a surgeon in the sarcoma and melanoma unit at the specialized oncology hospital 'The Royal Marsden' in London. I now apply the large amount of knowledge and experience I gained there at the Netherlands Cancer Institute.

Because the Netherlands Cancer Institute wants to provide oncological care at a global level, I am involved in various international collaborations in the field of sarcoma research, including as chairman secretary of the sarcoma research group of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and as a fellow board member of the Trans-Atlantic Australasian Retroperitoneal Sarcoma Working Group (TARPSWG). At the NKI, we are always looking at how we can apply all the new insights we learn in these collaborations for our patients, whether or not in a study context, and we want to continuously improve the care and outcomes for our patients. Together with a colleague in Milan, I am therefore leading a very large study into the role of chemotherapy in retroperitoneal sarcomas (STRASS2). My research focus is focused on 3 pillars: 1. Neo-adjuvant treatment (i.e. therapy before surgery), 2. Translational research into new (immuno)therapy treatment for liposarcomas and other tumors (together with Prof. Daniel Peeper) and 3. Quality of life (with Olga Husson).

In the sarcoma and melanoma team at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, an individual treatment plan is made for all patients, depending on tumor type and tumor characteristics and individual wishes of the patient. Treatment usually consists of surgery, often with additional radiotherapy (radiation) and regularly also with chemotherapy (sarcomas), immunotherapy (melanomas) or other targeted medications. Our team also regularly does isolated limb perfusion in which chemotherapy is flushed through an arm or leg for more advanced sarcomas and melanomas, which is only possible in three hospitals in the Netherlands.

Because of all this, the Netherlands Cancer Institute is the ideal place for me in the Netherlands to provide high-quality care to sarcoma and melanoma patients with the most modern treatment strategies and while maintaining as much quality of life as possible. I always like to go 'that extra mile' to find a tailor-made treatment for all my patients, even if it is difficult and not standard.