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Hans Joachim Scherer: an under-recognized pioneer of glioma research in Belgium

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Abstract

Hans Joachim Scherer (1906–1946) was a German pathologist who fled Germany to Belgium to work on glioma genesis, growth and progression. Despite being seldom cited, and due to the contributions discussed in this article, Hans Joachim Scherer, can be considered a founding father of contemporary neuropathology and glioma research. We discuss Scherer’s achievements in glioma classification, glomerular structures of glioma, primary and secondary glioblastoma, glioma growth patterns, non-resectability of glioma, pseudopalisadic necrosis and the late occurrence of symptoms in glioma.

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Fig. 1

Copyright Reprinted with permission from Springer Nature, Virchows Archiv für pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie und für klinische Medizin, Gliomstudien III, Hans Joachim Scherer, 1935

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Mr. Marc Scherer, the son of H.J. Scherer, for his fantastic biographical and bibliographical cooperation. We also thank Pr. Pierre Maquet for his kind review and the Belgian Fondation contre le Cancer for their cooperation.

Funding

We did not receive any specific funding for this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurosurgery, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège, 4000, Liège, Belgium

    Gilles Reuter, Arnaud Lombard & Felix Scholtes

  2. GIGA In-vivo Imaging Center, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium

    Gilles Reuter

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Münster, Munster, Germany

    Eric Suero Molina

  4. Neuroanatomy, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium

    Felix Scholtes

  5. Neuropathology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège, Liège, Belgium

    Elettra Bianchi

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GR had the idea of and drafted the article, EB reviewed the article and provided illustrations, AL, ESM and FS participated in the writing of the article.

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Correspondence to Gilles Reuter.

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Reuter, G., Lombard, A., Suero Molina, E. et al. Hans Joachim Scherer: an under-recognized pioneer of glioma research in Belgium. Acta Neurol Belg 121, 867–872 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13760-021-01708-z

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