Christian Blank
Professor By Special Appointment Internal Medicine in particular, clinical research of immunotherapy of cancer
- Name
- Prof.dr. C.U. Blank MD
- Telephone
- +31 71 526 3486
- c.blank@lumc.nl
- ORCID iD
- null
Christian U. Blank is professor for Internal Medicine, especially clinical research on cancer immunotherapy (LUMC) and staff member at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI). In addition, he is professor at the University of Regensburg/Germany, and is he founding and faculty member of the International Neoadjuvant Melanoma Consortium (INMC).
More information about Christian Blank
Christian U. Blank is professor for Internal Medicine, especially clinical research on cancer immunotherapy (LUMC) and staff member at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI). In addition, he is professor at the University of Regensburg/Germany, and is he founding and faculty member of the International Neoadjuvant Melanoma Consortium (INMC).
Cancer Immunotherapy
Cancer Immunotherapy is a novel therapeutic option with the aim to learn the body’s own immune system to attack and eliminate cancers.
A subgroup of cancer immunotherapy is the modulation of checkpoints, negative of positive signaling molecules on immune cells. A major advantage of this therapy is the longevity of response, if it occurs.
Our group has pioneered neoadjuvant checkpoint inhibition in melanoma, achieving unparalleled high response rates in early-stage disease.
Our current research focus is on personalizing the intensity of therapy, extent of surgery and frequency of the follow-up.
Academic career
Christian Blank obtained his MD from the Medical School of the Technical University Munich, Germany, where he also completed his Doctoral thesis (summa cum laude) at the Department for Medical Microbiology and in 1997. He worked as Junior House Officer (1997–1998) at the University Clinic Munich, at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, and the University of Birmingham. He went on to attain the position of Physician at the Department of Hematology and Oncology, University of Regensburg, Germany (1998–2001). During 2001–2003, Dr Blank held a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the lab of Professor Thomas Gajewski, University of Chicago, IL, USA. Subsequently he was appointed as Physician and Research Group Leader at the Department of Hematology and Oncology, University of Regensburg, Germany (2003–2007). Dr Blank has obtained two Specialist Degrees in Internal Medicine (2007) and in Hematology/Oncology (2009). Since 2007, he has been appointed Staff Member at the Department of Medical Oncology, and a Group Leader at the Division of Molecular Oncology and Immunology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute - Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital (NKI-AVL), Amsterdam. In 2010, Dr Blank became University Lecturer (Privatdozent) at the University of Regensburg. In addition to his academic background, Dr Blank obtained his Master of Business Administration (MBA), from the University of Warwick, England, UK (2006). Dr Blank is committed to teaching, lecturing on medical courses at the NKI-AVL and the Medical School of the University of Regensburg, where he was appointed Professor in 2015. In 2020 he was additionally appointed Professor at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in The Netherlands (oration on 14.10.2022 with the title “A cycle of life of T cell activation”).
He is a member of several prestigious societies, including ESMO and ASCO. Dr Blank has been an invited speaker at more than 250 national and international congresses, and is the author of more than 200 publications. His research interests broadly include neoadjuvant immunotherapies, targeted and biological response modifiers, and prognostic markers for cancer immunotherapies. Dr Blank has been the principal investigator of several investigator initiate trials testing neoadjuvant immunotherapy in melanoma that are currently changing the treatment landscape.
Professor By Special Appointment Internal Medicine in particular, clinical research of immunotherapy of cancer
- Faculteit Geneeskunde
- Divisie 2
- Medische Oncologie
- (2022), MART-1 TCR gene-modified peripheral blood T cells for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, Immuno-Oncology and Technology 15.
- Tong, T.M.L.; Kooij, M.K. van der; Speetjens, F.M.; Erkel, A.R. van; Meer, R.W. van der; Lutjeboer, J.; Meerten, E.L.V. van; Martini, C.H.; Zoethout, R.W.M.; Tijl, F.G.J.; Blank, C.U.; Burgmans, M.C. & Kapiteijn, E. (2022), Combining hepatic percutaneous perfusion with ipilimumab plus nivolumab in advanced uveal melanoma (CHOPIN), Trials 23(1).
- Reijers, I.L.M.; Rawson, R.V.; Colebatch, A.J.; Rozeman, E.A.; Menzies, A.M.; Akkooi, A.C.J. van; Shannon, K.F.; Wouters, M.W.; Saw, R.P.M.; Houdt, W.J. van; Zuur, C.L.; Nieweg, O.E.; Ch'ng, S.; Klop, W.M.C.; Spillane, A.J.; Long, G.V.; Scolyer, R.A.; Wiel, B.A. van de & Blank, C.U. (2022), Representativeness of the Index Lymph Node for Total Nodal Basin in Pathologic Response Assessment After Neoadjuvant Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy in Patients With Stage III Melanoma, JAMA Surgery 157(4): 335-342.
- Rozeman, E.A.; Versluis, J.M.; Moritz, R.; Wilgenhof, S.; Thienen, J.V. van; Haanen, J.B.A.G.; Heuvel, M.M. van de; Blank, C.U. & Rossum, H.H. van (2022), Diagnostic performance of early increase in S100B or LDH as outcome predictor for non-responsiveness to anti-PD-1 monotherapy in advanced melanoma, Clinica Chimica Acta.
- Reijers, I.L.M.; Menzies, A.M.; Akkooi, A.C.J. van; Versluis, J.M.; Heuvel, N.M.J. van den; Saw, R.P.M.; Pennington, T.E.; Kapiteijn, E.; Veldt, A.A.M. van der; Suijkerbuijk, K.P.M.; Hospers, G.A.P.; Rozeman, E.A.; Klop, W.M.C.; Houdt, W.J. van; Sikorska, K.; Hage, J.A. van der; Grunhagen, D.J.; Wouters, M.W.; Witkamp, A.J.; Zuur, C.L.; Lijnsvelt, J.M.; Acosta, A.T.; Grijpink-Ongering, L.G.; Gonzalez, M.; Jozwiak, K.; Bierman, C.; Shannon, K.F.; Ch'ng, S.; Colebatch, A.J.; Spillane, A.J.; Haanen, J.B.A.G.; Rawson, R.V.; Wiel, B.A. van de; Poll-franse, L.V. van de; Scolyer, R.A.; Boekhout, A.H.; Long, G.V. & Blank, C.U. (2022), Personalized response-directed surgery and adjuvant therapy after neoadjuvant ipilimumab and nivolumab in high-risk stage III melanoma: the PRADO trial, Nature Medicine.
- Rao, D.; Verburg, F.; Renner, K.; Peeper, D.S.; Lacroix, R. & Blank, C.U. (2021), Metabolic profiles of regulatory T cells in the tumour microenvironment, Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy 70(9): 2417-2427.
- Rozeman, E.A.; Hoefsmit, E.P.; Reijers, I.L.M.; Saw, R.P.M.; Versluis, J.M.; Krijgsman, O.; Dimitriadis, P.; Sikorska, K.; Wiel, B.A. van de; Eriksson, H.; Gonzalez, M.; Acosta, A.T.; Grijpink-Ongering, L.G.; Shannon, K.; Haanen, J.B.A.G.; Stretch, J.; Ch'ng, S.; Nieweg, O.E.; Mallo, H.A.; Adriaansz, S.; Kerkhoven, R.M.; Cornelissen, S.; Broeks, A.; Klop, W.M.C.; Zuur, C.L.; Houdt, W.J. van; Peeper, D.S.; Spillane, A.J.; Akkooi, A.C.J. van; Scolyer, R.A.; Schumacher, T.N.M.; Menzies, A.M.; Long, G.V. & Blank, C.U. (2021), Survival and biomarker analyses from the OpACIN-neo and OpACIN neoadjuvant immunotherapy trials in stage III melanoma, Nature Medicine 27(2): 256-+.
- Versluis, J.M.; Reijers, I.L.M.; Rozeman, E.A.; Menzies, A.M.; Akkooi, A.C.J. van; Wouters, M.W.; Ch'ng, S.; Saw, R.P.M.; Scolyer, R.A.; Wiel, B.A. van de; Schilling, B.; Long, G.V. & Blank, C.U. (2021), Original Research Neoadjuvant ipilimumab plus nivolumab in synchronous clinical stage III melanoma, European Journal of Cancer 148: 51-57.
- Versluis, J.M.; Hendriks, A.M.; Weppler, A.M.; Brown, L.J.; Joode, K. de; Suijkerbuijk, K.P.M.; Zimmer, L.; Kapiteijn, E.W.; Allayous, C.; Johnson, D.B.; Hepner, A.; Mangana, J.; Bhave, P.; Jansen, Y.J.L.; Trojaniello, C.; Atkinson, V.; Storey, L.; Lorigan, P.; Ascierto, P.A.; Neyns, B.; Haydon, A.; Menzies, A.M.; Long, G.V.; Lebbe, C.; Veldt, A.A.M. van der; Carlino, M.S.; Sandhu, S.; Tinteren, H. van; Vries, E.G.E. de; Blank, C.U. & Jalving, M. (2021), The role of local therapy in the treatment of solitary melanoma progression on immune checkpoint inhibition, European Journal of Cancer 151: 72-83.
- Versluis, J.M.; Reijers, I.L.M.; Rozeman, E.A.; Menzies, A.M.; Akkooi, A.C.J. van; Wouters, M.W.; Ch'ng, S.; Saw, R.P.M.; Scolyer, R.A.; Wiel, B.A. van de; Schilling, B.; Long, G.V. & Blank, C.U. (2021), Neoadjuvant ipilimumab plus nivolumab in synchronous clinical stage III melanoma, European Journal of Cancer 148.
- Rozeman, E.A.; Prevoo, W.; Meier, M.A.J.; Sikorska, K.; , T.M. van; Wiel, B.A. van de; Wal, J.E. van der; Mallo, H.A.; Grijpink-Ongering, L.G.; Broeks, A.; Lalezari, F.; Reeves, J.; Warren, S.; Thienen, J.V. van; Tinteren, H. van; Haanen, J.B.A.G.; Kapiteijn, E. & Blank, C.U. (2020), Phase Ib/II trial testing combined radiofrequency ablation and ipilimumab in uveal melanoma (SECIRA-UM), Melanoma Research 30(3): 252-260.
- Reijers, I.L.M.; Hilhorst, M.; Tan, M.; Klarenbeek, P.L.; Hak, A.E. & Blank, C.U. (2020), Acrocyanosis after neoadjuvant ipilimumab plus nivolumab: a case report.
- Versluis, J.M.; Thommen, D.S. & Blank, C.U. (2020), Rationalizing the pathway to personalized neoadjuvant immunotherapy, Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 8(2).
- Versluis, J.M.; Long, G.V. & Blank, C.U. (2020), Learning from clinical trials of neoadjuvant checkpoint blockade, Nature Medicine 26(4).
- Hoefsmit, E.P.; Rozeman, E.A.; Haanen, J.B.A.G. & Blank, C.U. (2019), Susceptible loci associated with autoimmune disease as potential biomarkers for checkpoint inhibitor-induced immune-related adverse events, ESMO Open 4(4).
- Trebeschi, S.; Drago, S.G.; Birkbak, N.J.; Kurilova, I.; Calin, A.M.; Pizzi, A.D.; Lalezari, F.; Lambregts, D.M.J.; Rohaan, M.W.; Parmar, C.; Rozeman, E.A.; Hartemink, K.J.; Swanton, C.; Haanen, J.B.A.G.; Blank, C.U.; Smit, E.F.; Beets-Tan, R.G.H. & Aerts, H.J.W.L. (2019), Predicting response to cancer immunotherapy using noninvasive radiomic biomarkers , Annals of Oncology 30(6).
- Reijers, I.L.M.; Rozeman, E.A.; Mallo, H.; Uyterlinde, W.; Adriaansz, S.; Lijnsvelt, J.; Wilgenhof, S.; Thienen, J.V. van; Haanen, J.B.A.G. & Blank, C.U. (2018), Switch to checkpoint inhibition (CPI) after targeted therapy (TT) at time of progression or during ongoing response: A retrospective analysis of patients with advanced BRAF mutated melanoma, Annals of Oncology 29: 449-449.
- Rozeman, E.A.; Dekker, T.J.A.; Haanen, J.B.A.G. & Blank, C.U. (2018), Advanced Melanoma: Current Treatment Options, Biomarkers, and Future Perspectives, American Journal of Clinical Dermatology 19(3): 303-317.
- Foppen, M.H.G.; Rozeman, E.A.; Wilpe, S. van; Postma, C.; Snaebjornsson, P.; Thienen, J.V. van; Leerdam, M.E. van; Heuvel, M. van den; Blank, C.U.; Dieren, J. van & Haanen, J.B.A.G. (2018), Immune checkpoint inhibition-related colitis: symptoms, endoscopic features, histology and response to management, ESMO Open 3(1).
- Lacroix, R.; Rozeman, E.A.; Kreutz, M.; Renner, K. & Blank, C.U. (2018), Targeting tumor-associated acidity in cancer immunotherapy, Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy 67(9): 1331-1348.
- Foppen, M.H.G.; Boogerd, W.; Blank, C.U.; Thienen, J.V. van; Haanen, J.B. & Brandsma, D. (2018), Clinical and radiological response of BRAF inhibition and MEK inhibition in patients with brain metastases from BRAF-mutated melanoma, Melanoma Research 28(2): 126-133.
- Foppen, M.H.G.; Brandsma, D.; Blank, C.U.; Thienen, J.V. van; Haanen, J.B. & Boogerd, W. (2016), Targeted treatment and immunotherapy in leptomeningeal metastases from melanoma, Annals of Oncology 27(6): 1138-1142.