dr. Tijl Vermassen (PhD)

At the Biomarkers in Cancer research group, we perform research towards improved biomarkers. Herein, I focus on two major research pipelines. 

Firstly, I study urine N-glycomics as potential biomarker for urogenital malignancies. As aberrant N-glycosylation is a typical feature in cancer, glycomics can be applied as biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of various cancer types. In close cooperation with the Nico Callewaert lab at VIB-UGent, I am continuing the established research in prostate cancer to develop a test that can be implemented in routine clinical practice. Next, we are extrapolating the findings to other urogenital tumors to enable early diagnosis of bladder cancer and renal cell carcinoma via an urine test. With regard to glycomic research, we also have established collaborations with the groups of prof. dr. Manfred Wuhrer at Leiden University Medical Center and prof. dr. Guinevere Lageveen-Kammeier at Groningen University.

Secondly, I have developed a high interest into immune-oncology. We conduct innovative and in depth analyses to unravel how the tumor micro-environment can modify the response to targeted therapies, e.g. immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors, with special focus on head and neck cancer. By using pathological approaches, we attempt to identify novel biomarkers with diagnostic or therapeutic potential. Moreover, by closely cooperating with other research groups, such as the Upper Airways Research Laboratory at Ghent University and the Translational Onco-genomics and Bio-informatics lab at VIB-UGent, we focus on proteomics, transcriptomics and cell-cell interactions. The ultimate objective is to have a more personalized medicine in the future through the establishment of an automated pathological platform that enables correct diagnosis of patients as well as guides decision making towards administration of the most appropriate therapy.
 

• Lissa Eggermont - doctoral fellow
• dr. Michael Saerens (MD) - doctoral fellow
• Andreas Huysman - doctoral fellow
• Li Shaobo - doctoral fellow
   

• A comprehensive view of N-glycosylation as clinical biomarker in prostate cancer. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer. 2024 Dec 11:189239. doi: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2024.189239.
• The Association between Urine N-Glycome and Prognosis after Initial Therapy for Primary Prostate Cancer. Biomedicines. 2024 May 8;12(5): 1039. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines12051039.
• Concordance, Correlation, and Clinical Impact of Standardized PD-L1 and TIL Scoring in SCCHN. Cancers (Basel). 2022;14(10):2431. doi: 10.3390/cancers14102431.
• Tumour infiltrating lymphocytes in oropharyngeal carcinoma: prognostic value and evaluation of a standardised method. Pathology. 2021 Dec;53(7):836-843. doi: 10.1016/j.pathol.2021.03.005.
• An open-label, nonrandomized, phase Ib feasibility study of cusatuzumab in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Clin Transl Sci. 2021;14(6):2300-2313. doi: 10.1111/cts.13089.
• Immuno-Oncological Biomarkers for Squamous Cell Cancer of the Head and Neck: Current State of the Art and Future Perspectives. Cancers (Basel). 2021;13(7):1714. doi: 10.3390/cancers13071714.
• N-Linked Glycosylation and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in the Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer. Int J Mol Sci. 2019;20(7):1592. doi: 10.3390/ijms20071592.
• Tumor PD-L1 status and CD8+ tumor-infiltrating T cells: markers of improved prognosis in oropharyngeal cancer. Oncotarget. 2017 Jul 6;8(46):80443-80452. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.19045.
• Neither creatinine- nor cystatin C-estimated glomerular filtration rate is optimal in oncology patients treated with targeted agents. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2018;33(3):402-408. doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfx063.
• Urinary prostate protein glycosylation profiling as a diagnostic biomarker for prostate cancer. Prostate. 2015;75(3):314-22. doi: 10.1002/pros.22918.
   

• Address: Department Medical Oncology, UZ Gent, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, entrance 50, route 535, 9000 Gent
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• Tijl Vermassen is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks.