Antoni RIBAS
Profession: Physician-Scientist
Nationality: Spanish-American
Why an honorary doctorate?
Wednesday, 17 November 2021. Antoni Ribas receives an honorary doctorate from VUB and the University Hospital UZ Brussel in recognition of his pioneering contributions in the field of cancer immunotherapy and, in particular, the treatment of melanoma.
"The biggest investment we can make in our lives is to be able to change how human disease happens."
About his career
From a life expectancy of weeks to a life with no sign of cancer
Asked about progress in cancer research, Antoni Ribas says cancer textbooks have changed more in the last ten years than in centuries past. He himself has a big part in that. When he started treating patients with advanced skin cancer, barely one in twenty responded to treatment. Of that period, he says, no sane doctor-scientist wanted to specialise in that kind of cancer treatment. Advanced skin cancer was considered one of the worst cancers, which was virtually impossible to treat. But in the meantime, and partly due to his own research, targeted therapies and immunotherapies are producing results that were unimaginable until recently. Currently, in more than half of his patients, the skin cancer becomes smaller, a healing process that lasts for years. Some patients came to Antoni Ribas with a life expectancy of a few weeks to a few months. Some of them are still alive today, almost 20 years later, and show no sign of cancer.
Longevity algorithm
Together with a colleague, Ribas developed an algorithm that predicted the degree to which a patient with advanced melanoma cancer would respond to treatment.
Bridge builder
Antoni Ribas connects knowledge from clinical practice with laboratory research and vice versa. Few are as proficient at it as he is.
What is an honorary doctorate?
VUB has awarded honorary doctorates every year since 1978 to personalities from the most diverse backgrounds who have made a remarkable contribution to their field and to society. From this solemn moment of recognition, they bear the honorary title of Doctor Honoris Causa of VUB.