Nikolaos Tsoukalas, MD, MSc, PhD
Medical Oncologist, MSc Bioinformatics, Director, Oncology Department, 401 General Military Hospital, Consultant, Henry Dunant Hospital Center, Athens Greece
Nikolaos Tsoukalas (MD, MSc, PhD) is a medical oncologist. He finished the medical school in 1999 (MD degree from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) and then fulfilled the official training in medical oncology in 2009 being also a sub-investigator in a phase III randomized double-blinded multi-center clinical trial. He worked as a consultant medical oncologist at the oncology department of 401 General Military Hospital in Athens, Greece for 3 years. From 2013, Dr Tsoukalas worked as a clinical research fellow in oncology at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust Hospital in London for 2,5 years, treating mainly breast and urology cancers and being also sub-investigator in phase II and III clinical trials. In London, he also attended the NeuroEndocrineTumours (NETs) clinics and NETs MDT meetings at the Royal Free Hospital NHS Trust. He was also a teacher and examiner at the School of Medical Education at King’s College and at the Royal Society of Medicine in London. Afterwards, he served as a consultant at the oncology department of Veterans Hospital (NIMTS) in Athens, Greece and he was the coordinator of the multidisciplinary team for cancer patients’ management in that hospital for 3,5 years (2016-2019).
Currently, he serves as a deputy director at the oncology department of 401 General Military Hospital of Athens and also as a consultant at Henry Dunant Hospital Center in Athens Greece. He is primary or sub-investigator in phase II and III clinical trials for different tumours. He participates in some observational studies and registries regarding cancer associated thrombosis (CAT), neuroendocrine tumours, pancreatic cancer, anti-EGFR treatment in colorectal cancer, liquid biopsies in non-small cell lung cancer, male breast cancer, kidney cancer, BRCA mutations in ovarian cancer and lynch syndrome. Additionally, he is a member of multidisciplinary teams for neuroendocrine tumours and adrenal tumours in Athens.
He finished a Master of Science in Bioinformatics and a PhD thesis in lung cancer biomarkers (MSc and PhD from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens). He received the ESMO accreditation in Medical Oncology twice in 2009 and in 2015. Moreover, he attended the Hellenic Academy in Oncology for two years and passed the final exams. Also, he attended the joint ECCO-AACR-EORTC-ESMO workshop on Methods in Clinical Cancer Research in Flims.
Dr Tsoukalas is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Society of Medical Oncology (HeSMO). Moreover, he is Scientific Director of the Hellenic Academy in Oncology since Jan 2020. Additionally, he is the Chair of MASCC Hemostasis Study Group since 2022. He has been the Chair-Coordinator of the Hellenic Group of Young Oncologists (HeGYO) for three years since 2014. Dr Tsoukalas is a member of ESMO, ASCO, ECCO, ESO, ENETS, MASCC and ESMO OncologyPro working group. He received fellowships from ESMO, HeSMO and Hellenic State Scholarships Foundation (IKY).
Dr Tsoukalas has published interesting papers regarding mainly biomarkers (RCAS1, Ephrins, HuR, COX2, HDAC, FAK/SRC, FXR, EMT, etc) in different tumour types, useful reviews regarding bisphosphonates, quality assurance, dermatomyositis and cancer, pancreatic carcinoids, abnormal DNA methylation and a meta-analysis regarding the predictive value of KRAS in colorectal cancer. He has a few comprehensive publications regarding cancer associated thrombosis and some hereditary aspects of cancers such as breast and gastric cancer. Dr Tsoukalas has written chapters in oncology books and he is a reviewer for different medical journals.