Each year approximately 550 children are diagnosed with cancer in The Netherlands. Although the cure rate has increased tremendously over the last decades, cancer is still the major cause of disease-related death in children in The Netherlands. Concentrating all care, experience and expertise with regard to cancer in children in a single location is essential to further improve patient outcome. The Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology aims to provide the highest level of care for all children with cancer and has the ambition to cure all children of cancer and significantly reduce unwanted side effects. The center brings together the best possible care and scientific research, creating a unique interdisciplinary institute for pediatric oncology in Europe.
Healthcare within the Princess Máxima Center is focused on the patient and their family and is concentrated around the type of cancer the child has. The Princess Máxima Center also has the ambition to become one of the best pediatric oncology research institutes in the world. Combining and collocating treatment and research in one center enables scientists to work closely with clinicians and develop new therapies much faster and efficiently. This in turn will help improve survival rates and decrease complications during and after treatment. It is the chain of fundamental research, patient-related research and healthcare that will enable future development of personalized medicine based on an in-depth understanding of tumor biology. The Princess Máxima Center will offer internationally recognized educational programs in pediatric oncology and other oncology specialisms. An excellent training program intends to recruit the very best and brightest healthcare professionals and researchers.