Karen Geboes

Prof. Dr. Karen Geboes is Head of Clinic in the Department of Gastroenterology at Ghent University Hospital and an affiliate member of Ghent University. She serves as coordinator of 'Kankercentrum UZ Gent' alongside Prof. Dr. Gwen Sys. Her clinical focus includes treating gastrointestinal tumors and managing hereditary cancer syndromes.

She holds an MD and PhD from KU Leuven, with specialized training in digestive oncology from Nantes, France. Her research emphasizes early integration of palliative care in oncology, demonstrated through her role in designing Belgium's first RCT on systematic palliative care integration (IPAC project).

Research interests center on:

• Multidisciplinary digestive oncology care pathways
• Palliative care interventions for chemotherapy-induced symptoms
• Hereditary cancer syndrome management
• Quality-of-life metrics in gastrointestinal cancers
• Digital health applications in cancer care coordination

Her recent publications demonstrate strong focus on surgical oncology outcomes, palliative care integration, and diagnostic imaging challenges, with particular emphasis on pancreatic and colorectal cancers.

Leads clinical teams at the Gastrointestinal Oncology Unit and collaborates extensively within the multidisciplinary Cancer Center UZ Gent. Contributes to European research consortia including the DIAdIC trial on digital health interventions.