The research of Jarno Drost and Eelco Hoving is one of the selected projects. It regards research into rhabdoid tumors. These are rare, but very aggressive tumors that mainly occur in the brain and kidneys of children. The prognosis is dismal and the need to develop new treatment options is urgent.
Drost and Hoving work together to grow patient-derived tumor tissue in a culture dish in the lab. In this manner they create mini-rhabdoid tumors, or so-called organoids. By directly culturing tumor cells from the patients in the lab, the researchers are able to study the characteristics of the cancer cells in detail. In addition, they can test different treatments on the organoids to develop better therapies.
The project of Drost and Hoving is funded by KiKa (Stichting Kinderen Kankervrij), which is, in addition to KWF and Roparun, one of the charities of the 11stedenzwemtocht. Besides the Princess Máxima Center, projects from the VUmc, AVL and EMCR have been selected by Van der Weijden. Also four projects, investigating leukemia, coloncancer, oral cancer and radiotherapy from the UMC Utrecht have been chosen.
It is going to be a tough swim for Van der Weijden as is evident from his attempt last year. He will be in the water for three days and two nights, with hardly any sleep. But Van der Weijden is fit and determined. You can support and join him in the water for 500 or 2000 meters. If you rather stay dry, you could financially support him or one of the other swimmers.