# Christian Blank
**Christian U. Blank** (born 1972 in Berlin) is a German medical oncologist known for pioneering neoadjuvant immunotherapy in melanoma, the practice of giving immune checkpoint inhibitors before surgery rather than after it. He has been a group leader and clinical staff member in the Department of Medical Oncology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute – Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital (NKI-AVL) in Amsterdam since 2007, and he specializes in treating patients with metastatic melanoma and renal cell cancer.[1](https://www.ieo.it/global-assets/images/foto-pagina-medico/cv_blank.pdf) • [2](https://www.nki.nl/research/find-a-researcher/groupleaders/christian-blank) • [3](https://www.avl.nl/en/specialists-employees/specialists/internists/christian-blank/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Main appointments | Group leader and medical oncology staff member, NKI-AVL, since 2007; Head of the Division of Melanoma and Sarcoma, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, since 2025[1](https://www.ieo.it/global-assets/images/foto-pagina-medico/cv_blank.pdf) |
| Professorships | Professor at the University of Regensburg (2015); professor for cancer immunotherapy at Leiden University Medical Center (2020) |
| Signature work | OpACIN and OpACIN-neo trials of neoadjuvant ipilimumab plus nivolumab; PRADO response-directed surgery trial; phase 3 NADINA trial |[5](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-01211-7) • [6](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01851-x) • [7](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2402604)
| NADINA result | 12-month event-free survival of roughly 80% or more with neoadjuvant ipilimumab plus nivolumab versus about 60% with adjuvant nivolumab alone[7](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2402604) |
| Pathologic response | about 60% major pathologic response in the NADINA neoadjuvant arm; about 60% pathologic response with the favored OpACIN-neo schedule |[7](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2402604) • [5](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-01211-7)
| Biomarker program | IFNγ signature, PD-L1, and tumor mutational burden identified as predictive biomarkers in the NADINA analyses[8](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0923753425048392) |
| Training | MD and doctoral thesis (summa cum laude, 1997) at the Technical University Munich; postdoc with Thomas Gajewski at the University of Chicago, 2001–2003[1](https://www.ieo.it/global-assets/images/foto-pagina-medico/cv_blank.pdf) |
## Training and career
Blank studied medicine at the Technical University Munich, where he completed his doctoral thesis (1994–1997) at the Department for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene under Prof. [Hermann Wagner](https://www.edgepedia.org/hermann-wagner), awarded summa cum laude.[1](https://www.ieo.it/global-assets/images/foto-pagina-medico/cv_blank.pdf) He worked as a junior house officer in 1997–1998 at the University Clinic Munich, the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, and the [University of Birmingham](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-birmingham), then trained as a physician in hematology and oncology at the University of Regensburg from 1998 to 2001.[1](https://www.ieo.it/global-assets/images/foto-pagina-medico/cv_blank.pdf) • [4](https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/christian-blank) From 2001 to 2003 he held a postdoctoral research fellowship in the laboratory of Prof. Thomas Gajewski at the University of Chicago, funded by the National Academy of Science Leopoldina.[1](https://www.ieo.it/global-assets/images/foto-pagina-medico/cv_blank.pdf) He returned to [Regensburg](https://www.edgepedia.org/regensburg) as physician and research group leader from 2003 to 2007, with board registration in internal medicine in 2007 and in hematology/oncology in 2009.[1](https://www.ieo.it/global-assets/images/foto-pagina-medico/cv_blank.pdf) • [2](https://www.nki.nl/research/find-a-researcher/groupleaders/christian-blank)
Since 2007 he has held two linked posts in Amsterdam: clinical staff member in the Department of Medical Oncology and group leader in the Division of Molecular Oncology and [Immunology](https://www.edgepedia.org/immunology) at NKI-AVL.[4](https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/christian-blank) He was appointed professor at the University of Regensburg in 2015, professor for cancer immunotherapy at [Leiden University Medical Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/leiden-university-medical-center) in 2020 (oration on 14 October 2022, titled "A cycle of life of T cell activation"), and since 2025 has headed the Division of Melanoma and Sarcoma at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan.[1](https://www.ieo.it/global-assets/images/foto-pagina-medico/cv_blank.pdf) • [4](https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/christian-blank) He also completed an MBA by distance learning at the [University of Warwick](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-warwick) (2001–2006).[1](https://www.ieo.it/global-assets/images/foto-pagina-medico/cv_blank.pdf)
## Neoadjuvant immunotherapy in melanoma
Since his postdoctoral years Blank's research has focused on combination immune checkpoint inhibition, initially in stage IV disease; in recent years his group pioneered the neoadjuvant approach in melanoma.[2](https://www.nki.nl/research/find-a-researcher/groupleaders/christian-blank) The rationale is that checkpoint blockade may work better in early-stage disease when the drug is given while the tumor is still present, because broad immune activation depends on the breadth of tumor antigens the immune system can see; adjuvant treatment after complete resection removes that stimulus.[9](https://www.nki.nl/research/research-groups/christian-blank/neodjuvant-cancer-immunotherapy/) The approach also yields higher response rates and supplies tumor tissue removed at surgery for translational research from homogeneous patient populations.[2](https://www.nki.nl/research/find-a-researcher/groupleaders/christian-blank)
His group runs a reverse-translation program on specimens collected at lymph node dissection after neoadjuvant treatment, correlating gene expression signatures with accurate clinical data to understand resistance and move toward personalized neoadjuvant immunotherapy.[9](https://www.nki.nl/research/research-groups/christian-blank/neodjuvant-cancer-immunotherapy/) The stated goal is customized therapy for every melanoma patient.[2](https://www.nki.nl/research/find-a-researcher/groupleaders/christian-blank)
## Representative work
According to an AACR conference abstract, the **OpACIN** trial compared neoadjuvant with adjuvant [ipilimumab plus nivolumab](https://www.edgepedia.org/ipilimumab-plus-nivolumab) in 20 patients with stage III melanoma[16](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02437279), and neoadjuvant treatment induced pathologic response rates of 74–78%.[10](https://doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.am2020-3412) The randomized phase 2 OpACIN-neo trial tested three dosing schedules of neoadjuvant ipilimumab plus nivolumab in about 70 stage III melanoma patients; two cycles of ipilimumab 1 mg/kg plus nivolumab 3 mg/kg (arm B) emerged as the most favorable schedule, with a pathologic response rate of about 60% and roughly 15% grade 3–4 immune-related adverse events, compared with about 30% grade 3–4 toxicity in group A and about 40% in group C.[5](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-01211-7) • [11](https://pure.prinsesmaximacentrum.nl/en/publications/identification-of-the-optimal-combination-dosing-schedule-of-neoa/)
The **PRADO** trial (2022, *Nature Medicine*) extended this into response-directed treatment: 90+ patients with stage IIIb–d nodal melanoma received six weeks of neoadjuvant ipilimumab and nivolumab, about 60% had a pathologic response including about 50% major pathologic response, and therapeutic lymph node dissection was omitted in most patients with major pathologic response, with lower surgical morbidity and better quality of life; 24-month relapse-free survival was about 75% for major responders.[6](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01851-x)
The NADINA trial (NCT04949113), funded by [Bristol Myers Squibb](https://www.edgepedia.org/bristol-myers-squibb) at over €8 million, randomized 423 patients with resectable, macroscopic stage III melanoma[7](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2402604) between neoadjuvant ipilimumab plus nivolumab followed by response-driven adjuvant therapy (cancer drug treatment given after surgery), and surgery followed by adjuvant nivolumab.[1](https://www.ieo.it/global-assets/images/foto-pagina-medico/cv_blank.pdf) • [7](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2402604) • [12](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04949113) At a median follow-up of about 8 months, 12-month event-free survival was roughly 80% versus about 60% (hazard ratio 0.32; P<0.001), with major pathologic response in about 60% of the neoadjuvant arm and 12-month recurrence-free survival of about 95%, 75%, and 60% for major, partial, and non-responders respectively.[7](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2402604) In 2025 his group reported the randomized phase 1b/2 **Morpheus-Melanoma** trial of a PD-1 and LAG-3-targeting bispecific antibody and other checkpoint inhibitor combinations in resectable melanoma, testing agents that engage two targets in one molecule rather than separate antibodies.[13](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03967-2)
## Recent developments
NADINA, reported in the *New England Journal of Medicine*, is the first phase 3 trial to evaluate neoadjuvant immunotherapy against standard of care in melanoma, and the first phase 3 trial in oncology to evaluate a neoadjuvant regimen consisting of immunotherapy alone.[7](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2402604) • [14](https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2024.42.17_suppl.LBA2) The 2025 two-year update (median follow-up 25 months) showed 2-year event-free survival of 77.3% versus 55.7% (hazard ratio 0.40) and 2-year distant metastasis-free survival of 82.8% versus 63.9%, with the first biomarker analyses identifying IFNγ, PD-L1, and tumor mutational burden as predictive markers of improved outcomes.[8](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0923753425048392) Blank has stated that NADINA defines neoadjuvant immunotherapy as the new standard of care for macroscopic stage III melanoma and called it a new template for other malignancies.[15](https://www.ovid.com/jnls/oncology-times/fulltext/10.1097/01.cot.0001069656.07227.76~dual-neoadjuvant-immunotherapy-as-standard-of-care-for) The 2025 Morpheus-Melanoma paper describes current standard of care for clinically detectable, resectable stage III melanoma as neoadjuvant nivolumab plus ipilimumab followed by adjuvant therapy based on pathological response and BRAF status.[13](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03967-2)
## Roles, funding and recognition
Blank is a founding and faculty member of the International Neoadjuvant Melanoma Consortium and, according to his curriculum vitae, co-authored the 2020 ESMO consensus conference recommendations on the management of locoregional and metastatic melanoma.[4](https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/christian-blank) • [1](https://www.ieo.it/global-assets/images/foto-pagina-medico/cv_blank.pdf) His investigator-initiated trial portfolio includes OpACIN (€680,000, 2014–2018), OpACIN-neo (€1,380,000, 2016–2020), the PRADO expansion (€1,176,000, 2018–2021), NADINA (2021–2028), IMPemBra, SECIRA-UM, and DONIMI, and a 2025–2028 Dutch Cancer Foundation (KWF) grant of €839,482 on novel immune inhibitory mechanisms in melanoma.[1](https://www.ieo.it/global-assets/images/foto-pagina-medico/cv_blank.pdf) He has been an invited speaker at more than 250 national and international congresses and has authored more than 200 publications.[4](https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/christian-blank)
## References
1. [Curriculum vitae, Prof. Dr. Christian Ulrich Blank](https://www.ieo.it/global-assets/images/foto-pagina-medico/cv_blank.pdf)
2. [Christian Blank Group, Netherlands Cancer Institute](https://www.nki.nl/research/find-a-researcher/groupleaders/christian-blank)
3. [Christian Blank | Internist, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek](https://www.avl.nl/en/specialists-employees/specialists/internists/christian-blank/)
4. [Christian Blank, Leiden University staff profile](https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/christian-blank)
5. [Survival and biomarker analyses from the OpACIN-neo and OpACIN neoadjuvant immunotherapy trials in stage III melanoma (Nature Medicine, 2021)](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-01211-7)
6. [Personalized response-directed surgery and adjuvant therapy after neoadjuvant ipilimumab and nivolumab in high-risk stage III melanoma (Nature Medicine, 2022)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01851-x)
7. [Neoadjuvant Nivolumab and Ipilimumab in Resectable Stage III Melanoma (NADINA, NEJM)](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2402604)
8. [LBA57 Two-year clinical update and first biomarker analyses of the phase III NADINA trial (Annals of Oncology, 2025)](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0923753425048392)
9. [Neoadjuvant Cancer Immunotherapy, NKI research program page](https://www.nki.nl/research/research-groups/christian-blank/neodjuvant-cancer-immunotherapy/)
10. [36-months and 18-months relapse-free survival after (neo)adjuvant ipilimumab plus nivolumab, update of the OpACIN and OpACIN-neo trials (AACR)](https://doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.am2020-3412)
11. [OpACIN-neo: optimal combination dosing schedule of neoadjuvant ipilimumab plus nivolumab (Lancet Oncology record)](https://pure.prinsesmaximacentrum.nl/en/publications/identification-of-the-optimal-combination-dosing-schedule-of-neoa/)
12. [NADINA trial registry entry (NCT04949113)](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04949113)
13. [Neoadjuvant PD-1 and LAG-3-targeting bispecific antibody and other immune checkpoint inhibitor combinations in resectable melanoma (Nature Medicine, 2025)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03967-2)
14. [Neoadjuvant nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus adjuvant nivolumab in macroscopic, resectable stage III melanoma: the phase 3 NADINA trial (ASCO 2024)](https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2024.42.17_suppl.LBA2)
15. [Dual Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy as Standard of Care (Oncology Times)](https://www.ovid.com/jnls/oncology-times/fulltext/10.1097/01.cot.0001069656.07227.76~dual-neoadjuvant-immunotherapy-as-standard-of-care-for)
16. [NCT02437279 (clinicaltrials.gov)](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02437279)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Life and health scientists › Life scientists › Researchers in immunology, microbiology, and virology › Immuno-oncology and tumor immunotherapy*
*Initially written Sep 21, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026; Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 25, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*
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