Interview with Prof. Arjan W. Griffioen: Tumor Angiogenesis, CAR T Cell Therapy, and Future Research Directions
On March 7, 2025, Journal of Cancer Metastasis and Treatment (JCMT) had the privilege of interviewing Editorial Board Member Prof. Arjan W. Griffioen, a leading expert in tumor angiogenesis from Amsterdam University Medical Center (often shortened to Amsterdam UMC), Netherlands. In this insightful discussion, Prof. Griffioen shared his perspectives on the role of angiogenesis in cancer progression, innovative combination therapies, and offered valuable advice for young researchers. He also shared his thoughts on how scientific journals can strengthen their impact in the fast-evolving fields of cancer metastasis and cancer treatment.
Watch the following video for expert insights from Prof. Griffioen:
Interview Questions:
Q1: Your laboratory has focused on tumor angiogenesis for a long time. Could you briefly introduce the key role of tumor angiogenesis in cancer development and highlight some of your team's recent findings in this field?
Q2: In your article "Targeting endothelial cell energy to improve CAR T cell therapy for solid tumors", you discuss using anti-angiogenic drugs to improve the efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. How does this approach work?
Q3: How promising do you consider this combination strategy (anti-angiogenic drugs plus CAR T cell therapy) for future cancer treatment?
Q4: Early-career researchers often face numerous challenges and setbacks in their work. Do you have any suggestions to help them maintain enthusiasm for scientific research?
Q5: As an Editorial Board Member of JCMT, you have a broad perspective on emerging trends in cancer metastasis and treatment. Do you have any suggestions for increasing the impact of scientific journals in this field?
About the Interviewee:
Prof. Arjan W. Griffioen, Professor of Experimental Oncology at Amsterdam University Medical Center (Amsterdam UMC) and Chief Scientific Officer at CimCure BV, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Prof. Griffioen's research interests include genetic profiling of tumor endothelium, cancer vaccines, combination therapy, and personalized therapy. His laboratory has pioneered the development of innovative, patent-protected cancer vaccines designed to be effective, safe, and not induce drug resistance. In collaboration with CimCure, he is currently leading efforts to bring their lead vaccine candidate into clinical testing.
Editor: Frida Zhai
Language Editor: Catherine Yang
Production Editor: Ting Xu
Respectfully Submitted by the Editorial Office of Journal of Cancer Metastasis and Treatment
