Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery | Oesophageal and Gastric Cancer

Principal Investigator Amsterdam UMC location University of Amsterdam

Principal Investigator at AGEM

Research institutes: CCA & AGEM

• Distribution of lymph node metastases and extent of lymphadenectomy in oesophageal and gastric cancer: Lymph node metastases are the strongest predictor of survival; we investigate which lymph node stations should be resected in relation to primary tumour characteristics (TIGER study and PUMA study)
• Surgical Management of Oesophageal and Gastric Cancer: Minimally invasive techniques are gradually being implemented worldwide, we investigate whether these techniques are beneficial to patients (i.a. TIME trial, ROBOT-2 trial). Additionally, superiority of surgical approaches for oesophageal and gastric cancer are investigated (i.a. IVORY study – transhiatal and transthoracic esophagectomy, OMEGA – complete or partial omentectomy in gastric cancer surgery, TUPEC trial – thoracic duct resection or preservation in esophagectomy)
• Postoperative Outcomes and Quality of Life: In several studies we assess postoperative morbidity and mortality, long-term survival, and health-related quality of life following oesophageal or gastric cancer surgery.
• Technological Advancements in Surgical Techniques: We investigate the benefit of fluorescence-guided surgery; perfusion of the gastric tube, sentinel node navigation surgery, fluorescence-guided lymphadenectomy and thoracic duct enhancement). We also implement AI in surgery for oesophageal and gastric cancer: response prediction to neoadjuvant therapy and analysis of the completeness of lymphadenectomy for surgical quality assurance.
• Neoadjuvant Therapy and Surgical Outcome: Investigating the role and effectiveness of neoadjuvant therapy in improving survival in oesophageal and gastric cancer (i.a. PIPER study: neoadjuvant PIPAC in gastric cancer surgery)
• Surgical Quality Assessment: One of our research lines is on the assessment of surgical quality in observational studies and randomized controlled trials. We have a large database with surgical videos which are both being assessed by human assessors as well as AI.

Suzanne Gisbertz is Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon at Amsterdam UMC, specialized in oesophageal and gastric cancer. Her research and clinical work have led to significant contributions in her field, with publications in scientific journals such as the Annals of Surgery, the British Journal of Surgery, and the Lancet. She actively contributes to the establishment of several cancer treatment guidelines, including the Dutch guideline for oesophageal and gastric cancer and the international guidelines for oesophageal diseases. She is board member of the ISDE, ESDE, ESA, EGCA, NVGIC, DUCA scientific committee, green operation room, OESO and program chair of the EAES. She is the organiser of several international congresses on oesophageal and gastric cancer the coming years (i.a. ESDE 2025 and the IGCC 2025)

Activities

• Upper GI Surgeon at Amsterdam UMC
• PI at AGEM
• PI at the University of Amsterdam
• Board member of the NVGIC, ISDE, ESDE, EGCA, OESO, ESA, green operation room
• Chair of the scientific committee of the DUCA
• Program chair of the EAES
• Organiser of the 2024 EAES in Maastricht, 2025 ESDE in Amsterdam, 2025 IGCC in Amsterdam, 2024 NVGIC in Lisbon and Terschelling
• Editor of Digestive Surgery, Artificial Intelligence Surgery, Cancers and Surgical Endoscopy