Rogier Versteeg, Head of the Department of Oncogenomics, AMC: "Analysis of clinical tumors challenges paradigms in cancer model systems"

The tremendous advances in cancer research of the last decennia mainly resulted from research in model systems, in vitro or in vivo. Systematic research of human tumors as seen in the clinic became feasible after more recent development of high throughput analysis systems, like mRNA profiling and full genome sequencing.

Professor Versteeg and his group systematically performed such analyses on the childhood tumor neuroblastoma. Full genome sequencing and transcriptomes of hundreds of neuroblastoma revealed strong discrepancies between paradigms established in model studies, and the clinical reality of human tumors. These discrepancies affect the fundamental insight in oncogenesis, as well as prospects for modern targeted therapy and drug resistance mechanisms. Unraveling the complexity of human cancer requires further integration of clinical data with in vitro and in vivo models of human tumor cells.