Editorial

Cancer affects us all. It is a devastating collection of diseases that places a heavy burden on society and individuals, and it is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In the Netherlands, one in three people will be afflicted at some point in their lives. Although we have come a long way, there is still a tremendous need to develop new knowledge and methods to outsmart the disease.

1 year of Oncode: building the Launching Platform

This is where Oncode Institute comes in. Oncode is an independent virtual institute dedicated to understanding the biology of cancer and efficiently translating that understanding into clinical practice. Oncode unites more than eight hundred outstanding scientists in The Netherlands, all of them specialized in the field of molecular oncology.

Oncode was founded upon five ambitious strategic objectives: cultivating scientific excellence, inspiring collaboration, improving patient care, improving the affordability of cancer care and stimulating economic benefits. In pursuit of these goals, Oncode has used its first year to lay a solid foundation on which to build in the coming years.

Oncode was founded upon five ambitious strategic objectives: cultivate scientific excellence, inspire collaboration, improve patient care, improve the affordability of cancer care and stimulate economic benefits.

This Annual Report presents the highlights of the first year of Oncode. In it you can read about how we built the foundations for current and future activities – about recruiting our staff, launching key scientific programmes, starting up a dedicated valorization team, hosting events, building an online community and shaping patient engagement.

In short, it will show you the many ways we are working on our mission: outsmarting cancer, impacting lives.

The Oncode Management Board 