Detect and Treat
Esophageal cancer is one of the fastest growing cancers in the Western world. This cancer is more common in men. The disease can arise from the so-called Barrett’s esophagus; these are changes in the esophagus that occur under the influence of chronic stomach acid, also known as reflux.
15 years ago, techniques were developed from Japan to treat early forms of esophageal cancer via an endoscope. Schoon mastered this new technique and grew into a worldwide specialist in this field. A specialized Barrett team was set up at Catharina Hospital, with medical specialists, nurse practitioners, nurses and pathologists.
In total, more than 400 organ-sparing operations of the esophagus have already been performed at the Catharina Cancer Institute. Leaving the esophagus intact leads to a lower risk and a better quality of life for the patient. Moreover, the procedures are cheaper than an extensive operation. “The introduction of these new techniques in the Netherlands is from a medical point of view the most spectacular development in our field that I have experienced,” says Schoon. “After the first successful treatments, the entire team cheered in the treatment room, we were so happy for the patients.”
In the Catharina Hospital, all Barrett patients from the south-east of the Netherlands are now being treated. This makes the hospital, together with the Amsterdam UMC, the largest center in the Netherlands in this area. The center is also well regarded outside the Netherlands. In the hospital, for example, the first patients in the Western world with a residual esophageal tumor were treated endoscopically after radiochemotherapy.
Abnormalities in the esophagus are very difficult to recognize. In addition to his work as an MDL doctor, Schoon therefore provides international education to specialists and MDL doctors in training. He also often speaks at international conferences and is active as an advisor for, among others, the European Commission. His scientific work on early cancers led to participation in more than 150 international publications. In addition to the KWF cancer fund, the scientific research is also sponsored by the own Catharina research fund.
Collaboration with university centers
Together with the ‘Video and Coding Architecture group’ of the Electrical Engineering department of Professor Peter de With and ir. Fons van der Sommen of Eindhoven University of Technology, Schoon was the first in the world to develop an algorithm that detects early forms of cancer in the esophagus. can recognize. In order to further refine this technique, there is close cooperation with various university centers such as Maastricht, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Nijmegen.
Cancer of the stomach and colon
Schoon and the team of researchers are now not only focusing on esophageal cancer. It is also important to recognize and treat early forms of cancer for stomach and colon cancer. A study is currently underway in which an algorithm has been developed using artificial intelligence for the detection of polyps in the colon during colonoscopy.
It can also be predicted on the basis of the external characteristics of the polyp whether a polyp will become malignant or not. If research shows that this approach is sufficiently reliable, it can increase safety for patients and greatly reduce the costs of an investigation. “Developments in this area are going very fast. Especially now that there is a lot of attention worldwide for the medical applications of artificial intelligence. When we started ten years ago there was little interest in the medical world, now it is booming. ”
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