The Netherlands Cancer Institute was established on October 10, 1913. The founders, Rotgans, professor of Surgery, De Bussy, publisher, and De Vries, professor of Pathology, wanted to create a cancer institute 'where patients suffering from malignant growths could be treated adequately and where cancer and related diseases could be studied'. They bought a house on one of the canals in Amsterdam and named it the 'Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Huis', after the famous Dutch microscopist. The clinic had room for 17 patients, while the laboratory could accommodate 8 to 10 scientists.

Nowadays, The Netherlands Cancer Institute accommodates approximately 650 scientists and scientific support personnel. The Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital has 185 medical specialists, 180 beds, an out-patients clinic with around 106,000 visits, 12 operating theaters and 11 irradiation units for radiotherapy. It is the only dedicated cancer center in The Netherlands and maintains an important role as a national and international center of scientific and clinical expertise, development and training.