About prof. dr. B. (Bernd) Kremer
Introduction
The consequences of Head & Neck cancer can be devastating and have an enormous impact on the quality of life of our patients. Therefore the prevention and cure of these cancers is of the utmost importance. About 50% of all patients with Head & Neck cancer can be cured. In significant percentage of the remainder the course of the disease can be slowed. However, quality of life can be substantially reduced after treatment of cancer. This is the reason why my research is not only directed to improving the survival of our patients but also to the prevention of the disease and preserving quality of life during and after treatment.
One of the main focusses of my research is on the role of the human papilloma virus in Head & Neck cancer. This virus causes an increasing number of cases of Head & Neck cancer while the number of cancers caused by smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol is decreasing. Cancers caused by the virus differ from cancers caused by tobacco and alcohol because different molecular mechanisms are involved. This gives new opportunities to understand how cancer occurs, to develop new preventative strategies and new therapies, and to adapt existing therapies leading to less side-effects. My research group and I have been able to show which differences between the two types of cancer exist, what the effects on the prognosis of cancer are, how these differences could be used to reduce the side-effects of treatment, and which possibilities for new treatments exist. Furthermore we contributed to the improvement of vaccination against the virus.
One of the most important reasons for the development of recurrences of Head & Neck cancer are inadequate resections. The occurrence of a recurrence greatly decreases the patients prognosis and further treatment significantly decreases quality of life. Therefore my second research-line focusses on improving the radicality of tumor resections by detecting genetic alterations of (pre-)malignant cells in the margins of resected tumors. This gives the opportunity for additional treatments. Another technique is the analysis of surgical vapours during electrosurgery that enables us to detect, and thus resect, residual tumorcells.
The better a patient and his/her physician are informed about the prognosis of the patients cancer the better they are able to take a good treatment decision. Therefore a third part of my research is focused on the identification of prognostic factors which increase the accuracy of our prognostic models. For example, my group has been the first in the world showing that in Head & Neck cancers caused by the human papilloma virus a lymph node metastasis does not have the same impact on prognosis (being a reduction by 50%) as in other Head & Neck cancers. This is very important information for both patient and physician for shared decision making.
All these Research Lines perfectly match the Research Lines of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of Erasmus Medical Centre of which I have been the head since June 2023.
Education and career
1985-1991: Study, Medical Science, RWTH Aachen University, Germany (cum laude)
1991-1996: Specialisation in Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Aachen, Germany
1993: Doctorate in Medical Science, RWTH Aachen University, Germany, (summa cum laude) Thesis: Computer navigation for Brachytherapy in the Head & Neck region– a new method for a preciser placement of after-loading tubes.
07/1994: “Friedrich Wilhelm Preis" RWTH Aachen University (award for the best thesis of the year of all faculties of RWTH Aachen University)
01/2003: Associate Professor Maastricht University, The Netherlands
10/2003: Habilitation (postdoctoral lecturing qualification), University of Cologne, Germany
2005-2023: Full Professor of Otorhinolaryngology & Head of Department, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands
Since 2023: Full Professor of Otorhinolaryngology & Head of Department, University of Rotterdam, The Netherlands
