Ronald de Wit was born on August 8, 1955, in Amsterdam. He earned his MD from the University of Amsterdam and became a Registered Specialist in Internal Medicine. In 1990, he completed his training in Medical Oncology and earned his PhD[3] on the topic "Treatment Aspects of AIDS-associated Kaposi’s Sarcoma" comprising research work published in the Lancet[4]
Ronald de Wit has been the lead investigator or senior author on numerous trials related to germ cell cancer.[5][6] One trial demonstrated that three cycles of BEP were an adequate treatment for good-risk metastatic disease.[7]
He has been involved in several clinical research projects on prostate cancer. One study
identified docetaxel as an effective treatment for castrate-resistant prostate cancer.[8] He was the Lead author of the CARD trial reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2019.[9][10][11][12] His research encompasses both clinical and translational studies, focusing on the interplay between taxanes and the latest hormonal agents, as well as biomarker investigations.[13] He is also affiliated with the Research Unit for Translational Pharmacology in the Department of Medical Oncology at Erasmus University Medical Center.
During the 2010s, he participated in industry-led immunotherapy trials in urothelial carcinoma Wikipedia Transitional cell carcinoma. These trials paved the way for the approval of Pembrolizumab in both second and first-line treatments, including for non-muscle invasive disease.[14][15][16][17][18][19] His contributions extend to translational and immuno-oncology research,[20] specifically on biomarker studies that determine prognostic and predictive factors for checkpoint inhibition.
In addition to his contributions in the treatment of urological cancers, Ronald de Wit has been involved in advancing the management of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. He introduced a statistical method that revealed the diminishing efficacy of 5HT3 Receptor antagonists as antiemetic treatment over consecutive cycles of therapy, primarily due to their inability to manage delayed nausea effectively.[21]
He played a role in the development and subsequent FDA and EMA approval of the NK1 antagonist aprepitant [1].
His research highlighted that when 5HT3 and NK1 drugs are used in combination, they offer considerably enhanced efficacy throughout multiple cycles due to improved control over delayed nausea and emesis.[22]
De Wit R, Sleijfer S, Kaye SB, Horwich A, Mead B, Sleijfer DT, Stoter G
Bleomycin and scuba diving: where is the harm? [24]
De Wit R.
Optimal management of germ cell cancer: more a matter of expertise than of chemotherapy regimen.[25]
van de Wetering RAW, Sleijfer S, Feldman DR, Funt SA, Bosl GJ, de Wit R.
Controversies in the Management of Clinical Stage I Seminoma: Carboplatin a Decade in-Time to Start Backing Out.[26]
van Soest RJ, Tombal B, Lolkema MP, de Wit R.
Cell-free DNA in Advanced Prostate Cancer: A Biomarker Revolution Under Way? [27]
de Wit R.
Refinement of the Management of Germ Cell Cancer: What's Next? [28]
Ronald de Wit, Bertrand Tombal, Stephen Freedland
Use of Chemotherapy and Androgen Signaling-targeted Inhibitors in Patients with Metastatic Prostate Cancer.[29]
Joaquim Bellmunt, Ronald de Wit, Yves Fradet, et al
Putative Biomarkers of Clinical Benefit With Pembrolizumab in Advanced Urothelial Cancer: Results from the KEYNOTE-045 and KEYNOTE-052 Landmark Trials.[30]
^de Wit, R; Roberts, JT; Wilkinson, PM; de Mulder, PH; Mead, GM; Fosså, SD; Cook, P; de Prijck, L; Stenning, S; Collette, L (15 March 2001). "Equivalence of three or four cycles of bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin chemotherapy and of a 3- or 5-day schedule in good-prognosis germ cell cancer: a randomized study of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Genitourinary Tract Cancer Cooperative Group and the Medical Research Council". Journal of Clinical Oncology. 19 (6): 1629–40. doi:10.1200/JCO.2001.19.6.1629. PMID11250991.
^Tannock, IF; de Wit, R; Berry, WR; Horti, J; Pluzanska, A; Chi, KN; Oudard, S; Théodore, C; James, ND; Turesson, I; Rosenthal, MA; Eisenberger, MA; TAX 327, Investigators (7 October 2004). "Docetaxel plus prednisone or mitoxantrone plus prednisone for advanced prostate cancer". The New England Journal of Medicine. 351 (15): 1502–12. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa040720. PMID15470213.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^de Wit, R; de Bono, J; Sternberg, CN; Fizazi, K; Tombal, B; Wülfing, C; Kramer, G; Eymard, JC; Bamias, A; Carles, J; Iacovelli, R; Melichar, B; Sverrisdóttir, Á; Theodore, C; Feyerabend, S; Helissey, C; Ozatilgan, A; Geffriaud-Ricouard, C; Castellano, D; CARD, Investigators (26 December 2019). "Cabazitaxel versus Abiraterone or Enzalutamide in Metastatic Prostate Cancer". The New England Journal of Medicine. 381 (26): 2506–2518. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1911206. hdl:1854/LU-8730504. PMID31566937.
^de Wit, R; Schmitz, PI; Verweij, J; de Boer-Dennert, M; de Mulder, PH; Planting, AS; van der Burg, ME; Stoter, G (February 1996). "Analysis of cumulative probabilities shows that the efficacy of 5HT3 antagonist prophylaxis is not maintained". Journal of Clinical Oncology. 14 (2): 644–51. doi:10.1200/JCO.1996.14.2.644. hdl:2066/22829. PMID8636782.
^de Wit, R; Herrstedt, J; Rapoport, B; Carides, AD; Carides, G; Elmer, M; Schmidt, C; Evans, JK; Horgan, KJ (15 November 2003). "Addition of the oral NK1 antagonist aprepitant to standard antiemetics provides protection against nausea and vomiting during multiple cycles of cisplatin-based chemotherapy". Journal of Clinical Oncology. 21 (22): 4105–11. doi:10.1200/JCO.2003.10.128. PMID14559891.
^de Wit, R; Sleijfer, S; Kaye, SB; Horwich, A; Mead, B; Sleijfer, DT; Stoter, G (November 2007). "Bleomycin and scuba diving: where is the harm?". The Lancet. Oncology. 8 (11): 954–5. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(07)70321-2. PMID17976605.
^de Wit, R (February 2015). "Optimal management of germ cell cancer: more a matter of expertise than of chemotherapy regimen". The Journal of Urology. 193 (2): 391–3. doi:10.1016/j.juro.2014.11.078. PMID25447105.
^van Soest, RJ; Tombal, B; Lolkema, MP; de Wit, R (September 2018). "Cell-free DNA in Advanced Prostate Cancer: A Biomarker Revolution Under Way?". European Urology. 74 (3): 292–293. doi:10.1016/j.eururo.2018.03.002. PMID29566958.
^de Wit, R (20 November 2019). "Refinement of the Management of Germ Cell Cancer: What's Next?". Journal of Clinical Oncology. 37 (33): 3063–3065. doi:10.1200/JCO.19.02302. PMID31584840.
^de Wit, R; Tombal, B; Freedland, S (February 2021). "Use of Chemotherapy and Androgen Signaling-targeted Inhibitors in Patients with Metastatic Prostate Cancer". European Urology. 79 (2): 170–172. doi:10.1016/j.eururo.2020.10.016. PMID33218827.
^Bellmunt, J; de Wit, R; Fradet, Y; Climent, MA; Petrylak, DP; Lee, JL; Fong, L; Necchi, A; Sternberg, CN; O'Donnell, PH; Powles, T; Plimack, ER; Bajorin, DF; Balar, AV; Castellano, D; Choueiri, TK; Culine, S; Gerritsen, W; Gurney, H; Quinn, DI; Vuky, J; Vogelzang, NJ; Cristescu, R; Lunceford, J; Saadatpour, A; Loboda, A; Ma, J; Rajasagi, M; Godwin, JL; Homet Moreno, B; Grivas, P (13 May 2022). "Putative Biomarkers of Clinical Benefit With Pembrolizumab in Advanced Urothelial Cancer: Results from the KEYNOTE-045 and KEYNOTE-052 Landmark Trials". Clinical Cancer Research. 28 (10): 2050–2060. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-3089. PMID35247908.