Nico van Zandwijk

Nico van Zandwijk is a Dutch-born thoracic oncologist and professor emeritus at the University of Sydney, recognized for his contributions to the study and treatment of asbestos-related diseases, particularly malignant pleural mesothelioma. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, and a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians.

He has authored or co-authored over 450 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, with more than 24,000 citations and an h-index of 81. He trained in medicine and later earned a PhD from the University of Amsterdam, becoming a specialist in internal medicine and thoracic oncology. His early career was based in the Netherlands, where he began working in thoracic oncology before founding the Department of Thoracic Oncology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (Antoni van Leeuwenhoekhuis) in 1985, where he served until 2008.

Career He was secretary and later chair of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Lung Cancer Cooperative Group from 1984 to 1992, and was a board member of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). After stepping down as ADRI director, he was appointed senior staff specialist with the Sydney Local Health District and honorary staff member at the Department of Cell and Molecular Therapies, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. and an article on the therapeutic potential of synthetic microRNA mimics, as well as several widely cited articles on the global threat of asbestos-related cancers and mesothelioma epidemiology.

Selected publications van Zandwijk N et al. (2000). "EUROSCAN, a randomized trial of vitamin A and N-acetylcysteine". J Natl Cancer Inst. van Zandwijk N et al. (2013). "Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma". J Thorac Dis. van Zandwijk N et al. (2017). "Safety and activity of microRNA-loaded minicells in mesothelioma". Lancet Oncology. van Zandwijk N, Reid G, Frank A (2020). "Asbestos-related cancers: the ‘Hidden Killer’ remains a global threat". Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy. van Zandwijk N et al. (2022). "The silent malignant mesothelioma epidemic: a call to action". Lancet Oncology. van Zandwijk N, Frank A (2024). "A multidisciplinary review of asbestos-related lung cancer". Lung Cancer. Reid G & van Zandwijk (2025). “Therapeutic potential of synthetic microRNA mimics based on the miR-15/107 consensus sequence”. Cancer Gene Therapy.