GH de Bock

Truuske de Bock is professor in the field of Oncological Epidemiology since 2010. She got her master degree in psychology (main courses: theoretical psychology, social psychology, statistics and informatics) and her Ph Degree in medicine (Peripheral osteoarthritis in general practice. Leiden: University of Leiden, 1994. Supervisors: prof.dr. JD Mulder, prof.dr. JC van Houwelingen). She became a certified Epidemiologist (In Dutch: Epidemioloog B) in 1997 supervised by prof.dr. JP Vandenbroucke. Since 2004 is she working at the Department of Epidemiology in the University Medical Center Groningen, where she is involved in research and teaching. Since 2015, she is a Certified instructor Epidemiology on behalf of the Dutch Epidemiological Association.

Her field of research is mainly related to the early detection of cancer and the follow-up after a treatment for cancer. Being socially responsible is an important aspect in health care research. The aim of the research of Truuske de Bock is to contribute to sustainable care in which quality of life and control of costs are important elements. Sustainable cancer screening refers to screening in which only patients groups are screened that will benefit from this by a longer life and better quality of life at a reasonable cost. Her research is focussed on the identification of groups of patients with an increased risk of cancer, the consequences of the treatment for cancer and the estimation of the optimal screening strategy. Applied methods concern systematic literature review, analyses of clinical cohorts, computer simulations and medical decision making models.

She was member of two working committees of the Dutch National Health Council (Gezondheidsraad) on the topic of screening and the follow-up of cancer. She is member of the working group involved in the revision of the CBO/NABON guidelines regarding the diagnostics and follow-up of breast cancer. In addition, she is involved in the regular revision of the guideline for breast cancer in general practice (NHG). She (co)authored about 300 PubMed peer reviewed publications, has over 8000 citations, an h-index of 46 and an i10-index of 180 (Google scholar). She is involved in over 40 Dutch publications.

Selected recent publications:

·     de Munck L, de Bock GH, Otter R, Reiding D, Broeders MJ, Willemse PH, Siesling S. Digital vs screen-film mammography in population-based breast cancer screening: performance indicators and tumour characteristics of screen-detected and interval cancers. Brit J Cancer 2016;115:517-24.

·     van Maaren MC, de Munck L, de Bock GH, Jobsen JJ, van Dalen T, Linn SC, Poortmans P, Strobbe LJ, Siesling S. 10 year survival after breast-conserving surgery plus radiotherapy compared with mastectomy in early breast cancer in the Netherlands: a population-based study. Lancet Oncol 2016;17:1158-70.

·     Vos JR, Hsu L, Brohet RM, Mourits MJ, de Vries J, Malone KE, Oosterwijk JC, de Bock GH. Bias Correction Methods Explain Much of the Variation Seen in Breast Cancer Risks of BRCA1/2 Mutation Carriers. J Clin Oncol 2015; 33: 2553-62

·     Phi XA, Houssami N, Obdeijn IM, Warner E, Sardanelli F, Leach MO, Riedl CC, Trop I, Tilanus-Linthorst MM, Mandel R, Santoro F, Kwan-Lim G, Helbich TH, de Koning HJ, Van den Heuvel ER, de Bock GH. Magnetic Resonance Imaging Improves Breast Screening Sensitivity in BRCA Mutation Carriers Age ≥ 50 Years: Evidence From an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis. J Clin Oncol 2015; 33: 349-56.

·     Teixeira N, Mourits MJ, Vos JR, Kolk DM, Jansen L, Oosterwijk JC, de Bock GH. Ovarian cancer in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers: The impact of mutation position and family history on the cancer risk. Maturitas 2015;82:197-202.

·     Maass SW, Roorda C, Berendsen AJ, Verhaak PF, de Bock GH. The prevalence of long-term symptoms of depression and anxiety after breast cancer treatment: A systematic review. Maturitas 2015; 82: 100-8.

·     Zhan Z, van den Heuvel ER, Doornbos PM, Burger H, Verberne CJ, Wiggers T, de Bock GH. Strengths and weaknesses of a stepped wedge cluster randomized design: its application in a colorectal cancer follow-up study. J Clin Epidemiol 2014; 67: 454-61.

·     Lauby-Secretan B, Scoccianti C, Loomis D, Benbrahim-Tallaa L, Bouvard V, Bianchini F, Straif K; International Agency for Research on Cancer Handbook Working Group. Breast-cancer screening--viewpoint of the IARC Working Group. N Engl J Med 2015;372:2353-8.

·     Koleva-Kolarova RG, Zhan Z, Greuter MJ, Feenstra TL, De Bock GH. Simulation models in population breast cancer screening: A systematic review. Breast 2015;24:354-63.

·     Boerman LM, Berendsen AJ, van der Meer P, Maduro JH, Berger MY, de Bock GH. Long-term follow-up for cardiovascular disease after chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy for breast cancer in an unselected population. Support Care Cancer 2014;22:1949-58.