Date of birth: 02/09/1937

Wikipedia

BIOGRAPHY

Fritz Schröder is a German urologist who spent most of his career at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He led the university’s prolific department of urology from 1977 until his retirement in 2002, and then became honorary professor of urology.

His main interest was in experimental aspects of prostate cancer, especially models that allow the study of endocrine dependence of prostate tumours. Throughout his career he contributed to research and education in urology at an international level.

Schröder studied medicine in Germany, completing his urological training in Homburg and the University of California in Los Angeles, where he was a urology resident from 1967 to 1969.

He went to the University of California, San Diego, on a biology research fellowship in the laboratory of Gordon Sato, where work on cell cultures contributed to the development of research models in xenotransplants of human prostate cancer tissue into mice. The experience he gained in San Diego, conducting endocrinological and morphological studies of prostate tumours in vitro, prepared the ground for Schröder’s research career.

In 1971 he went back to Germany to finish his urology training. The following year he was appointed associate professor at the University of Würzburg, where he helped to develop models of human prostate cancer tissue transplanted into nude mice, which led to 13 permanent nude mouse lines with prostate cancer and several tissue culture lines that became widely used for research and commercial purposes, including for studies of dietary effects on prostate cancer.

After moving to Erasmus University Rotterdam, in 1979 he joined the genito-urinary group of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), and contributed to many EORTCtrials, including investigations into endocrine therapy, his main area of interest.

This included the Bolla study that compared radiotherapy to radiotherapy plus three years of endocrine treatment, and a trial investigating the role of maximal androgen blockade in metastatic disease.

Schröder served as secretary and chair of the EORTC genito-urinary group from 1982 to 1987, before chairing the EORTC prostate committee from 1990 to 1992.

In 1991, he co-founded the European Randomised Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer with Louis Denis. Pilots of the trial began in 1992 and enrolment in 1994. The trial led to a better understanding of prostate cancer screening and early diagnosis of prostate cancer.

The trial showed that PSA screening to detect prostate cancer in its early curable stages leads to a significant reduction in mortality rates. But it also demonstrated that it is possible to identify potentially indolent prostate cancers with a high degree of certainty and so minimise the harms of overtreatment.

Throughout his career Schröder promoted urology education, including as chair of the education committee of the European Board of Urology (1989‒1997); director of the European School of Urology (1996‒1999); and on the board of the European Association of Urology (1996‒1999).

For more details see this brief CV and this article by Schröder on his career.