About Dr. G.H. (Henrike) Westerveld MD, PhD
Introduction
Clinical expertise
Since 2022, I’m working as a radiation oncologist at the Erasmus Medical Center. I obtained my MD at the University of Amsterdam in 2001, and my PhD in 2008. In 2011, I completed my Residency in Radiation Oncology at the AMC. Thereafter, I was working as a KWF clinical fellow at the General Hospital of Vienna (A), Austria, the University Medical Center Utrecht (NL), and the AMC (Amsterdam UMC)(NL), respectively. My specializations are gynecological and urological cancer, brachytherapy (internal irradiation) and deep hyperthermia.Research focus
My research interest is focused on technological innovation and implementation of image-guided radiotherapy, including brachytherapy, and (prevention and treatment of) late effects in urogenital cancers. As a researcher, I collaborate with many national and international research groups aiming at to achieve the best care for, in particular, gynecological cancer patients.Field(s) of expertise
- Image-guided radiotherapy for gynecological and urological cancer
- Technological innovation and clinical implementation in brachytherapy (internal radiotherapy)
- Prevention and treatment of late effects in patients treated with pelvic radiotherapy.
Education and career
- 1994-2001 MD training, University of Amsterdam (NL)
- 2008 PhD thesis “Unraveling the genetics of spermatogenic failure”, University of Amsterdam
- 2006-2011 Radiation Oncology training, Amsterdam Medical Center
- 2012-2013 KWF fellow “Image-guided brachy therapy in pelvic tumors”
- 2013-2022 staff member Amsterdam UMC
- 2023 - staff member Erasmus MC.
Publications
Key publications:
- Westerveld H, Nesvacil N, Fokdal L, et al. Definitive radiotherapy with image-guided adaptive brachytherapy for primary vaginal cancer. Lancet Oncol 2020; 21:e157-e167.
- Westerveld H, Schmid MP, Nout RA, et al. Image-Guided Adaptive Brachytherapy (IGABT) for Primary Vaginal Cancer: Results of the International Multicenter RetroEMBRAVE Cohort Study. Cancers 2021; 23;13:1459.
- Westerveld H, Kirchheiner K, Nout RA et al. Dose-effect relationship between vaginal dose points and vaginal stenosis in cervical cancer: An EMBRACE-I sub-study. Radiother Oncol. 2022 Mar;168:8-15.
- Richard Pötter, Kari Tanderup, Maximilian Paul Schmid, et al., EMBRACE Collaborative Group. MRI-guided adaptive brachytherapy in locally advanced cervical cancer (EMBRACE-I): a multicentre prospective cohort study. Lancet Oncology 2021, S1470-2045(20)30753-1
- Laan JJ, van Lonkhuijzen LRCW, Stokking JA, et al. The Effect of Contemporary Brachytherapy Practices on Prognosis in Women with Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer. Curr Oncol. 2023 Apr 19;30(4):4275-4288.
- Laan J, van Lonkhuijzen L, Hinnen K, et. al. Malnutrition is associated with poor survival in women receiving radiotherapy for cervical cancer. Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2024 Apr;34(4):497-503.
- Grewal M, van Weersel D, Westerveld H, et al. Learning Clinically Acceptable Segmentation of Organs at Risk in Cervical Cancer Radiation Treatment from Clinically Available Annotations
Teaching activities
- Co-promotor of PhD candidates
- Supervisor of Master theses
- Teacher Dutch RO residents (“AIOS”) program
- Faculty member of diverse ESTRO courses and contouring workshops
- Course director Amsterdam Brachy College (ABC)
- UTQ (University Teaching Qualification)(BKO) certified.
Other positions
- Medical coordinator (MECO) Brachytherapy, Hyperthermia, and nursing station, Radiotherapy dept. EMC
- Head Brachytherapy, Radiotherapy dept. EMC
- Chair Dutch NVRO GYN platform (LPRGT)
- Chair Dutch NVRO Brachytherapy platform (LPBT).
Scholarships, grants, and awards
- 2023 PI Varian research grant MONA LISA project (online adaptive radiotherapy for cervical cancer)
- 2021 WP leader Gieskes Strijbis foundation research grant EXAMINE project (evolutionary explainable AI, WP prognostic models for cervical cancer treatment outcome)
- 2019 Co-promotor NWO open competition research grant EXAMINE/MODIR (multi-objective learning for deformable image registration in cervical cancer)
- 2017 PI/project leader AMC innovation grant ELEGANT project (founding of Expertise center on late effects after GYN cancer treatment)
- 2014 GEC-ESTRO Nucletron congress award (vaginal brachy dose reporting in cervical cancer)
- 2011 KWF clinical fellowship grant (image-guided brachytherapy in urogenital cancer).
