Dr. S.A. (Bas) van Nimwegen

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Areas of expertise

Skills

Research areas

Life Sciences (LS)

European Specialist Companion Animal Surgery (diplomate ECVS)

Dr. van Nimwegen is board certified european specialist surgeon (ECVS) of companion animals. His expertise concerns minimally invasive surgery (MIS), treatment of tumors, and novel treatment modalities such as laser surgery, photodynamic therapy, and brachytherapy (using radioactive holmium microspheres). Because of his surgical expertise, dr. van Nimwegen contributes to internationally recognized surgical textbooks on oncologic surgery and minimaly invasive surgery in companion animals.

Dr. van nimwegen is also radiation safety expert and legal officer, supervising therapeutic use of radionuclides.

Dr. van Nimwegen represents the surgical oncology section in the multi-diciplinary veterinary oncology clinic UU Animal Cancer Center and the clinical oncology research group OnGo. This is a cooperation between surgical oncology, medicial oncology, diagnostic imaging, and veterinary pathology with the aim to provide optimal diagnosis and therapy for animals with cancer (tumors).

The Utrecht department of Companion Animal Medicine has expertise in minimally invasive surgery in dogs and cats for more than 25 years. Besides laparoscopic ovariectomy (sterilisation), we also perform more advanced minimally invasive surgery procedures in the abdomen and thorax, such as adrenalectomy, insulinoma treatment, pulmonary lobectomy, pericardectomy, removal of ovarian remnants, and treatment of chylothorax.

Dr. van Nimwegen is involved in several clinical research projects within the surgical department and the clinical oncology research group OnGo, such as:

-Minimally invasive surgical approaches and MIS training models

-Development of imaging-guided intratumoral treatment with radioactive 166-holmium microspheres of brain tumors in dogs (with Radboudumc, TU Delft, Quirem medical BV). Supported by NWO project grant.

-Radioactive holmium microbrachytherapy treatment of head&neck and brain tumors. Supported by K.F. Hein fund.

-Development of nanobody-targeted photodynamic therapy in cats with oral squamous cell carcinoma (with Faculty of Science, UU; supported by Morris Animals Foundation grant)

-Investigation of onclolytic virus and vaccine therapies for inoperable tumors (with Leiden UMC)

Research focus

Dr. van Nimwegen's main research subject is the development of a novel minimally invasive treatment for inoperable tumors using intratumoral application of radioactive holmium (166-Ho) microspheres. In this modality he is involved in the development of new tumor treatment strategies in humans at the UMC-Utrecht and radboudumc Nijmegen. Results in companion animals of experimental tumor therapies, developed in cooperation between UMCU and Veterinary Medicine, also serve as a model for implementation of these novel therapies in human patients. Results of radioactive holmium microsphere treatement of inoperable oral tumors in cats has lead to the start of the first trial of intratumoral holmium microsphere treatment in humans in 2015, supported by a KWF-Alpe d'Huzes grant. Initial use of this experimental treatment approach in humans with end-stage Head&Neck squamous cell carcinoma has been published earlier this year.

Presently, an NWO-TTW granted cooperative research project is running: 'Image-guided treatment of brain malignancies with radioactive holmium microspheres'. The study is a consortium composed of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Radboud UMC, UMC Utrecht, TU Delft, TU Twente and the companies Quirem Medical and Enceladus. The consortium is a result of a years-long partnership between the three researchers Frank Nijsen, Bas van Nimwegen, and Raymond Schiffellers. The human pre-clinical projects are supervised by neurosurgeons Pierre Robe and Marike Broekman (UMC Utrecht). The research has a multi-disciplinary and highly translational character. “A large part of the study will be conducted among patients at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine: dogs and cats suffering from brain tumours. Dogs and cats with brain tumours display symptoms similar to those displayed by humans with the same condition. With this new therapy, we will be able to treat animal patients who can then serve as models for the same treatment in humans in the near future.” The subsidy will enable the researchers to appoint two PhD's (Chiron Morsink at department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals in Utrecht and Nienke Klaasen at Radboudumc in Nijmegen) and two analysts, develop the device for image-guided treatment and dosimetric modelling, and cover a large part of treatment costs for companion animals with brain tumors.