In Memoriam: Prof. Dr. med. Wolfgang Queisser

On January 15, 2026, Professor Wolfgang Queißer passed away in Mannheim at the age of 89. Since 1986, he had been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Oncology Research and Treatment – then still published under the title ONKOLOGIE – and served as Editor-in-Chief from 1989 to 2002. Under his leadership, the journal was successfully indexed in PubMed, an important milestone for its international visibility. The moment he received the news has remained unforgettable for many colleagues: he ran down the corridor shouting, “We’re in PubMed!” and embraced the young assistant physician Hofheinz in his excitement.Wolfgang Queißer was born in 1936 in Pethau, near Zittau in Saxony. Displaced from his homeland in 1945, he spent his school years in Schleswig-Holstein and attended the State Boarding School Schloss Plön from 1950 to 1957. He studied medicine at the Free University of Berlin from 1957 to 1960, continued at the University of Freiburg until 1962, and completed his medical studies at the University of Heidelberg in 1963.After 2 years as an assistant physician at municipal hospitals in Ludwigshafen and Rendsburg and at the University Medical Center Freiburg – where he decided to pursue a career in internal medicine – he worked from 1965 to 1967 at the Institute of Pathology at the University of Kiel under Professor Karl Lennert. From 1967 to 1971, he served as a research assistant in the Department of Hematology at the Center for Internal Medicine at the University of Ulm under Professor Hermann Heimpel. He completed his habilitation there with a thesis entitled “The Application of Cytophotometry.”From 1971 to 1977, Queißer was a senior physician at the First Medical Clinic (Director: Professor Wolfgang Hoffmeister) at Mannheim Hospital, part of the Department of Clinical Medicine at the University of Heidelberg. In 1973, he founded an oncology working group (Onkologischer Arbeitskreis), the second such initiative in Germany after Heidelberg, where a similar group had been established in 1969, and in 1975, he was appointed as Associate Professor. Beginning in 1977, he served as a senior physician at the newly established Oncology Center at Mannheim Hospital. The official opening of this pioneering model center – linking interdisciplinary outpatient clinics with an inpatient ward – took place in February 1978 in the presence of Dr. Mildred Scheel. In 1989, Queißer was appointed as the Head of the Special Oncology Section at Mannheim Hospital. He led the Oncology Center within the Medical Clinic III (Director: Professor Rüdiger Hehlmann) until his retirement in 2001.Professor Queißer’s early scientific work focused on the investigation of normal and disturbed thrombocytopoiesis. In 1978, he published the influential monograph Das Knochenmark: Morphologie – Funktion – Diagnostik (Thieme), which became a widely used reference work in hematology. While his academic career began in hematology, he later devoted himself increasingly to medical oncology, particularly gastrointestinal cancers. Queißer played a key role in advancing the methodological development and quality standards of clinical trials in oncology. Until his retirement, he initiated and led numerous prospective clinical trials, including several phase III studies, particularly in gastric and colorectal cancer. Notable examples include the first large adjuvant phase III trials in colon and rectal cancer conducted within the “Gastrointestinal Tumors Study Group.” His many contributions in this field provided important impulses for oncologists throughout the German-speaking world.Beyond his scientific and clinical achievements, Professor Queißer was deeply committed to the personal care of his patients, always emphasizing the importance of psychological and social support alongside medical treatment. His engagement also extended to professional and scientific policy. In 1984, he joined other internists in founding the Phase II Study Group of the Working Group for Medical Oncology (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Internistische Onkologie, AIO) of the German Cancer Society, which he chaired until 1992. From 1985 to 1994, he served on the Executive Board of the AIO. In addition, he led the South German Hemoblastosis Group from 1986 to 1989.The portrait of the clinical researcher and professional leader would be incomplete without mentioning Wolfgang Queißer’s wide-ranging artistic interests, which he enjoyed sharing with colleagues and staff. He was an enthusiastic photographer and occasionally exhibited his work in public venues. His love for art extended into the clinical environment – he decorated the oncology outpatient clinic with art prints and even accompanied colleagues to galleries to select artwork for treatment rooms. At Christmas, each member of his staff received a carefully chosen literary gift.Upon his retirement, he published his autobiography, Biographische Notizen (Zuckschwerdt Verlag), which remains highly recommended reading for anyone interested in the early development of oncology in Germany. Writing had long been a passion for him, inspired by his mother, and after retirement, he devoted himself to it extensively, publishing nearly a book each year. In total, he authored more than twenty books during this period, including short stories, novels – some with autobiographical elements – poetry, and genealogical works.In a 2023 interview, when asked about his favorite leisure activities beyond his daily morning writing routine, Queißer replied with characteristic simplicity: “gardening, reading SPIEGEL, smoking my pipe, and enjoying life.”We remain grateful for Wolfgang Queißer‘s pioneering vision of interdisciplinary oncology and forward-looking outpatient cancer care and will remember him as an enthusiastic clinician and dedicated clinical researcher, but also as a culturally curious and multifaceted personality whose intellectual vitality and humanity left a lasting impression on colleagues, students, and patients alike.Ralf-Dieter HofheinzGernot HartungAndreas Hochhaus