Title of the project:
Prediction tools for Hodgkin lymphoma patients to weigh benefits and harms of different treatment and survivorship care strategies.

Project description: 
The Netherlands Cancer Institute, situated in Amsterdam, is the only Comprehensive Cancer Center in The Netherlands. It is a well-organized and dynamic cancer research institute accommodating over 50 research groups and advanced core facilities. It is an internationally renowned center covering fundamental, translational and clinical cancer research. The Division of Psychosocial Research and Epidemiology, chaired by Professor F.E. van Leeuwen, consists of four groups: Epidemiology, including studies on the late-effects of cancer treatment and the etiology of hormone-related cancers, Psychosocial Research, focusing on quality of life, cognitive functioning and survivorship issues in patients with (an increased risk of developing) cancer, Health Technology Assessment, focusing on early HTA of novel cancer treatments/diagnostics and Biostatistics, a core facility within our institution which offers statistical support to researchers in our institute.

We are looking for a PhD student to join our Division to contribute to the research lines on late-effects of cancer treatment and survivorship issues. 

Project information
Hodgkin lymphoma usually occurs at young ages and has an excellent prognosis (≥80% cure rate). However, the life expectancy of survivors is compromised by the occurrence of late complications of treatment like second malignancies and cardiovascular diseases. HL can be treated with more or less intensive chemotherapy regimens, with/without involved site radiotherapy, depending on patient and disease characteristics. Randomized controlled trials show that risks of Hodgkin lymphoma recurrence and death usually differ little between available treatments. Therefore, when determining the best treatment strategy for an individual patient, it is of paramount importance to weigh absolute chances of cure for selected treatments against absolute risks of adverse events. However, a prediction tool enabling comparison of cure rates and absolute risks of late effects is currently not available for newly diagnosed Hodgkin lymphoma patients. Also, for survivors there are no prediction tools to better discriminate individuals at high risk of late effects who are eligible for screening and interventions. In this project, we aim to develop and evaluate risk prediction tools for survival, recurrence and late effects after HL treatment. The ultimate aim is to build (1) a HL-Treatment Decision Support Tool for newly diagnosed HL patients, and (2) an online HL-Survivorship Care Management Support Tool to support better tailored surveillance / interventions for survivors at high risk of late treatment effects.

Your role
As a PhD student, together with a research assistant, you will be responsible for ascertaining cardiovascular diseases and risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in our cohort. Subsequently, you will develop several prediction models, separately for new patients and survivors. You will also identify patient and physician needs in the process of decision-making about the different treatment choices for Hodgkin lymphoma and their long-term adverse effects. Subsequently you will be involved, together with a postdoc, in the translation of these models to a usable tool for clinicians (and patients). You will also be involved in evaluation of the user satisfaction with these prediction tools.

You should have a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in epidemiology, health science, biomedical science, medical statistics or related background, and have a strong interest in oncology. We are looking for someone who has experience with statistical analyses (preferably survival analysis or prediction modeling), or shows eagerness to acquire expert competencies in this field. You have outstanding analytical and collaborative skills, and ideally you are already skilled in writing scientific articles.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

Your temporary employment is for a period of 4 years. The gross salary per month will range from €2.798,- and €3.446,- depending on your previous experience. This salary is based on the standard PhD salary scale and a full-time appointment of 36 hours per week. Furthermore you will receive a fixed End of Year bonus in December (8,33%) and holiday pay in May (8,33%).

In addition, you will have a yearly educational budget of €1.500,-. During your four years of training, you will also have the opportunity to visit our collaborators in the US as a guest researcher for a couple of months. The terms of employment will be in accordance with the CAO (Collective Labour Agreement for Hospitals) Ziekenhuizen and can be consulted at https://cao-ziekenhuizen.nl/. If needed, we can help you find a nearby living space.

The Netherlands Cancer Institute

The Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) is the only Comprehensive Cancer Center in The Netherlands (Amsterdam). It is a well-organised and dynamic cancer research institute accommodating over 50 research groups and advanced core facilities. It is an internationally renowned center covering fundamental, translational and clinical cancer research. The work takes place within the Department of Radiology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam in association with the University of Maastricht.