Alexander C. J. van Akkooi MD, PhD, FRACS
Chair of Melanoma Surgical Oncology, Melanoma Institute Australia; Associate Professor of Melanoma Surgical Oncology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, AustraliaProf. Dr. Alexander van Akkooi is a board-certified surgical oncologist specializing in cutaneous oncology (melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, particularly Merkel cell carcinoma) at the Melanoma Institute Australia, University of Sydney, and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He is the immediate past-chairman of the EORTC (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer) Melanoma Group. Prof. Dr. van Akkooi has published over 225 peer-reviewed papers in high-impact journals, including NEJM, The Lancet, The Lancet Oncology, Cell, and Nature Medicine, among others, and has presented at numerous international meetings. He is a member of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), Society for Melanoma Research (SMR), and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Prof. Dr. van Akkooi was awarded his medical degree from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He was a resident in general surgery at Maasstad Ziekenhuis in Rotterdam and underwent residency training in surgical oncology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam and Erasmus MC Cancer Institute in Rotterdam. His PhD was awarded cum laude in 2011 from Erasmus University on the topic of "Sentinel Node Tumor Load Assessment in Melanoma: Dilemmas and Clinical Management."
Disclosures
- Advisory board/consultant: Amgen; Bristol-Myers Squibb; MSD-Merck; Merck-Pfizer; NeraCare; Novartis; Pierre Fabre; Provectus; Sanofi; Sirius Medical; 4SC
- Research funding: (to his institute): Amgen; Merck-Pfizer
Recent Contributions to PracticeUpdate:
- Survival of Patients With Advanced Metastatic Melanoma
- Treatment of Merkel Cell Carcinoma
- Circulating Tumor Cells and Early Relapse in Node-Positive Melanoma
- Anti-TNF Treatment Is Associated With Decreased Survival in Steroid-Refractory, Ipilimumab- and Anti-PD-1-Treated Patients
- Classification for Prediction of Metastasis in Uveal Melanoma
- Comparative Effectiveness Between Pembrolizumab and Nivolumab in Patients With Metastatic Melanoma
- Update on Tolerability and Overall Survival in COLUMBUS: Encorafenib + Binimetinib vs Vemurafenib or Encorafenib in BRAF V600–Mutant Melanoma
- Potential Detrimental Effect of Antibiotics on Clinical Outcomes in the Setting of Immune-Checkpoint Blockade
- DCE-MRI Perfusion Predicts Pseudoprogression in Metastatic Melanoma Treated With Immunotherapy
- The Potential Development of PD-L1 as a Biomarker in Advanced Melanoma