Wed, 26 Feb 2025 07:31:17 +0000Latest in cancer research/article/sek-420-million-cancer-research-lund-universityWed, 26 Feb 2025 07:31:17 +0000/article/sek-420-million-cancer-research-lund-universityThe Mrs Berta Kamprad Foundation is donating SEK 420 million to cancer research at �۶���Ƶ. This is the largest donation to the university since its foundation in 1666./article/unexpected-discovery-revives-abandoned-breast-cancer-treatmentWed, 04 Dec 2024 13:19:45 +0000/article/unexpected-discovery-revives-abandoned-breast-cancer-treatmentA new study led by �۶���Ƶ in Sweden has solved a years-old mystery: which patients with aggressive breast cancer are helped by a targeted cancer treatment that had been under development but was shelved. The study is important since it brings hope that the development of the drug can continue and that it will make it all the way to these patients./article/three-lund-researchers-receive-erc-consolidator-grants-0Fri, 24 Nov 2023 10:28:18 +0000/article/three-lund-researchers-receive-erc-consolidator-grants-0Daniel Bexell, Joan Yuan and Andreas Nilsson have each been awarded the prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant. They will spend five years conducting research on childhood cancer neuroblastoma, the crucial role of B cells in our immune system and the Earth’s magnetic field./article/eu-funding-killer-cells-fight-cancerThu, 24 Aug 2023 11:13:14 +0000/article/eu-funding-killer-cells-fight-cancerAs certain tumor cells are able to conceal themselves in the body, it often means that patients with aggressive cancers experience a recurrence of the cancer after treatment. By programming genetically modified killer immune cells to seek and destroy the hiding tumor cells and tumor stem cells, it is hoped that we can develop more effective treatment options. An international research project, with key technologies developed by �۶���Ƶ in Sweden will be used to advance immunotherapies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), glioblastoma, and pancreatic cancer. This consortium has been granted approximately 40 million SEK by EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation, Horizon Europe./article/breast-cancer-study-altered-guidelines-swedenWed, 23 Aug 2023 20:49:17 +0000/article/breast-cancer-study-altered-guidelines-swedenBRCA1 and BRCA2 are well-known breast cancer genes associated with a significantly increased risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. However, there are an additional eleven genes associated with elevated risk for these types of cancer. A multi-year Swedish study now reveals that the proportion of women with genetically confirmed hereditary breast cancer doubled by including all genes in the screening test./article/ai-supported-mammography-screening-found-be-safeTue, 01 Aug 2023 23:13:24 +0000/article/ai-supported-mammography-screening-found-be-safeMammography screening supported by artificial intelligence (AI) is a safe alternative to today’s conventional double reading by radiologists and can reduce heavy workloads for doctors. This has now been shown in an interim analysis of a prospective, randomised controlled trial, which addressed the clinical safety of using AI in mammography screening. The trial, led by researchers from �۶���Ƶ in Sweden, has been published in The Lancet Oncology. /article/erc-grant-research-early-detection-ovarian-cancerFri, 05 May 2023 14:12:28 +0000/article/erc-grant-research-early-detection-ovarian-cancerChristelle Prinz, Professor of Solid State Physics at �۶���Ƶ, has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept Grant for her research into creating cost-effective biosensor diagnostics for the early detection of ovarian cancer./article/new-insights-foetal-development-may-protect-against-leukaemiaTue, 21 Feb 2023 12:14:34 +0000/article/new-insights-foetal-development-may-protect-against-leukaemiaDuring the foetal stage, a number of so-called cell programs run that are vital to the development of the foetus. In a study published in Cell Reports, researchers from �۶���Ƶ demonstrate that one of these foetal programs appears to protect against acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). /article/metabolic-health-plays-role-obesity-related-cancersTue, 07 Feb 2023 10:51:12 +0000/article/metabolic-health-plays-role-obesity-related-cancersFor up to 40 years, nearly 800,000 people from Sweden, Norway and Austria have been tracked based on how their BMI and metabolic health – that is, their blood pressure, blood glucose levels and blood fats - affect the risk of suffering from obesity-related cancers. The study shows that those who are metabolically unhealthy are at a higher risk of certain forms of cancer, regardless of their body weight./article/erc-grants-research-diabetes-and-immunotherapyWed, 25 Jan 2023 11:36:21 +0000/article/erc-grants-research-diabetes-and-immunotherapyTwo innovation-driven research projects at �۶���Ƶ have been awarded a Proof of Concept Grant by the European Research Council, ERC. They relate to biomarkers for predicting who benefits from metformin in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and new technology to enable powerful and focused therapies for the treatment of solid tumours./article/toward-personalized-approach-study-and-treatment-bone-cancersWed, 11 Jan 2023 10:21:29 +0000/article/toward-personalized-approach-study-and-treatment-bone-cancersResearchers at �۶���Ƶ have generated human mini bones in the lab which mirror the composition and function of human bone. The results published in Science Translational Medicine detail this step toward the future development of patient-tailored, personalized models of bone cancers and tumors./article/reprogramming-cancer-cells-immune-defendersThu, 22 Dec 2022 09:54:09 +0000/article/reprogramming-cancer-cells-immune-defendersBy reprogramming tumour cells to become the body’s defenders, Filipe Pereira and his colleagues hope to improve current cancer treatments./article/advanced-treatments-future-are-soon-hereThu, 22 Dec 2022 09:45:59 +0000/article/advanced-treatments-future-are-soon-hereStem cells programmed to produce insulin in people with type 1 diabetes or to repair the heart muscle after a heart attack. Gene and cell therapies that improve cancer treatments. These new and innovative therapies have the potential to cure, alleviate and treat diseases where traditional medicines are currently insufficient./article/altered-cell-behaviour-behind-resistance-neuroblastomaFri, 11 Nov 2022 12:21:19 +0000/article/altered-cell-behaviour-behind-resistance-neuroblastomaResearchers at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden have identified one of the reasons why the childhood cancer neuroblastoma becomes resistant to chemotherapy. The findings are significant for how future treatments should be designed. The results have been published in Science Advances./article/four-lund-researchers-receive-sek-120-million-wallenberg-foundationWed, 19 Oct 2022 11:59:58 +0000/article/four-lund-researchers-receive-sek-120-million-wallenberg-foundationMikael Akke, Göran Jönsson, Sara Linse and Mathieu Gisselbrecht of �۶���Ƶ in Sweden have been awarded considerable grants from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. Over a five-year period, they will conduct major projects on allosteric signalling, more effective immunotherapy, secretive helper proteins and quantum entanglement./article/erc-grant-research-separating-cells-using-ultrasoundTue, 06 Sep 2022 10:14:02 +0000/article/erc-grant-research-separating-cells-using-ultrasoundPer Augustsson, Associate Professor at the department of Biomedical Engineering at �۶���Ƶ, has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept Grant for his work on how liquids and cells behave in a sound field./article/tumour-environment-can-affect-breast-cancer-prognosisThu, 25 Aug 2022 07:34:40 +0000/article/tumour-environment-can-affect-breast-cancer-prognosisThe environment in which breast cancer arises –the interplay between the patient’s BMI, tumour size and cancer-specific proteins –is of importance for the prognosis. This is shown in a study from �۶���Ƶ in Sweden. The knowledge could further enhance precision medicine in breast cancer./article/smoking-worsens-prognosis-men-prostate-cancerTue, 10 May 2022 09:23:51 +0000/article/smoking-worsens-prognosis-men-prostate-cancerSmokers have a lower risk of developing prostate cancer, but a higher risk of dying from the disease, according to a large population study led by �۶���Ƶ in Sweden. The researchers followed more than 350 000 people over several decades, and the results are now published in European Urology./article/three-lund-researchers-receive-erc-consolidator-grantsFri, 18 Mar 2022 09:07:29 +0000/article/three-lund-researchers-receive-erc-consolidator-grantsBrain cells that control the behaviour of insects, extreme gene expression in Italian sparrows and how radiotherapy alters the microenvironment in aggressive brain tumors. Three researchers at �۶���Ƶ have been awarded five-year grants from the European Research Council./article/new-precision-technology-immunotherapyMon, 28 Feb 2022 12:48:11 +0000/article/new-precision-technology-immunotherapyIn recent years, great advances have been made in the development of new successful immunotherapies to treat cancer. CAR T-cell therapy and antibody treatments are two types of targeted immunotherapies that have revolutionised areas of cancer care. However, there are still significant challenges in the identification of cancer cell surface proteins as targets for immunotherapies. A research group at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden is well on the way and have now published their findings in PNAS. /article/metabolism-found-regulate-production-killer-cellsWed, 09 Feb 2022 10:39:02 +0000/article/metabolism-found-regulate-production-killer-cellsIn a recent study from �۶���Ƶ in Sweden, researchers discovered that metabolic changes affect how blood cells are formed during embryonic development. They found a previously unknown metabolic switch with a key role in how different types of blood cells develop. This means blood cell formation can be directed towards producing natural killer cells in the laboratory to ultimately be used in a new anti-cancer treatment./article/bodys-fantastic-defence-system-gets-help-fight-against-cancerWed, 02 Feb 2022 10:36:15 +0000/article/bodys-fantastic-defence-system-gets-help-fight-against-cancerT cells, antibodies, immune defences – concepts we have learnt more about after a couple of years of a global Covid-19 pandemic. Understanding of how the immune system works against cancer is another major issue for research and development of new treatments. ‟Antibodies have been used in cancer care for close to 25 years but it is over the past five years that new techniques and treatments have taken a new direction”, says Mats Jerkeman, consultant physician in oncology at Skåne University Hospital and professor of clinical oncology at �۶���Ƶ. /article/environmentally-sustainable-diet-linked-health-benefitsThu, 09 Dec 2021 09:55:25 +0000/article/environmentally-sustainable-diet-linked-health-benefitsA large population study from �۶���Ƶ in Sweden has shown that more sustainable dietary habits are linked to health benefits, such as a reduced risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. The study is published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition./article/organised-prostate-cancer-testing-provide-more-equal-careWed, 01 Dec 2021 10:57:15 +0000/article/organised-prostate-cancer-testing-provide-more-equal-careWith 10,000 new cases a year, prostate cancer is the most common cancer type in Sweden. To create equal, accessible and high-quality prostate cancer care, Region Skåne has introduced Organised prostate cancer testing, OPT. "Anyone who wants to should be allowed to be tested for prostate cancer. Studies show that early detection lowers long-term mortality", says Anders Bjartell, one of Sweden’s leading prostate cancer researchers at �۶���Ƶ and Skåne University Hospital./article/new-findings-benign-adrenal-tumours-could-improve-careWed, 26 May 2021 09:24:16 +0000/article/new-findings-benign-adrenal-tumours-could-improve-careNew research could enable better healthcare for patients with benign tumours of the adrenal glands. Researchers at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden have identified the levels of cortisol produced by the tumours which are associated with higher mortality rates./article/mutations-can-reduce-effect-hormonal-treatment-early-breast-cancerThu, 22 Apr 2021 10:33:53 +0000/article/mutations-can-reduce-effect-hormonal-treatment-early-breast-cancerA small proportion of women who receive anti-estrogen treatment after breast cancer surgery have worse outcomes. This is associated with mutations in the estrogen receptor gene, according to a study from �۶���Ƶ now published in JNCI Cancer Spectrum./article/fewer-breast-cancer-cases-between-screening-rounds-3d-mammographyWed, 07 Apr 2021 08:32:42 +0000/article/fewer-breast-cancer-cases-between-screening-rounds-3d-mammography3D-mammography reduces the number of breast cancer cases diagnosed in the period between routine screenings, when compared with traditional mammography, according to a large study from �۶���Ƶ in Sweden. The results are published in the journal Radiology./article/screening-colorectal-cancer-starts-springTue, 23 Mar 2021 12:58:19 +0000/article/screening-colorectal-cancer-starts-springIn May, screening for colorectal cancer will be offered in Skåne to all those born in 1961. Subsequently, Swedes aged 60 to 74 will be tested for blood in their faeces, to detect cancer at an early stage. Once all regions in Sweden have introduced the screening, at least 300 lives are expected to be saved per year./article/new-method-facilitates-development-antibody-based-drugsFri, 05 Mar 2021 11:45:40 +0000/article/new-method-facilitates-development-antibody-based-drugsIn recent years, therapeutic antibodies have transformed the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. Now, researchers at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden have developed a new, efficient method based on the genetic scissors CRISPR-Cas9, that facilitates antibody development. The discovery is published in Nature Communications./article/fluorescent-nanodiamonds-successfully-injected-living-cellsWed, 03 Mar 2021 11:12:53 +0000/article/fluorescent-nanodiamonds-successfully-injected-living-cellsAs odd as it sounds, many scientists have attempted to place extremely small diamonds inside living cells. Why? Because nanodiamonds are consistently bright and can give us unique knowledge about the inner life of cells over a long time. Now physics researchers at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden have succeeded in injecting a large number of nanodiamonds directly to the cell interior./article/wake-pandemic-new-methods-cancer-careWed, 11 Nov 2020 14:30:45 +0000/article/wake-pandemic-new-methods-cancer-careA cancer diagnosis often entails many hospital visits and intensive treatments that can be very tiring for the patient. In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, however, cancer patients were identified as an at-risk group, so forms of treatment were modified. Now a group of physicians at �۶���Ƶ want to evaluate how these new forms of treatment were experienced by the patients themselves, and what outcomes they had on patient health./article/promising-treatment-aggressive-childhood-cancerTue, 06 Oct 2020 10:50:18 +0000/article/promising-treatment-aggressive-childhood-cancerA drug has shown great promise in the treatment of neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of childhood cancer. The study was led by researchers at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden, and is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine./article/new-analytical-model-detects-mutations-breast-cancerThu, 24 Sep 2020 13:51:39 +0000/article/new-analytical-model-detects-mutations-breast-cancerResearchers at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden have developed a computational model which is effective in detecting and identifying genetic mutations in breast tumours. The study, the largest of its kind in the world, includes results from over 3 200 patients with breast cancer. /article/six-lu-researchers-receive-erc-starting-grantsFri, 04 Sep 2020 08:59:09 +0000/article/six-lu-researchers-receive-erc-starting-grantsColourful common wall lizards, an innovative X-ray microscope and advanced research on Alzheimer’s, leukaemia, photographic evidence and the origin of life. Six researchers from �۶���Ƶ in Sweden have been granted five-year starting grants totalling EUR 9.5 million from the ERC./article/potency-enhancing-drugs-linked-decreased-risks-men-colorectal-cancerMon, 17 Aug 2020 11:52:29 +0000/article/potency-enhancing-drugs-linked-decreased-risks-men-colorectal-cancerA new study from �۶���Ƶ and Region Skåne in Sweden indicates that potency-enhancing PDE5 inhibitor drugs have an anti-cancer potential with the ability to improve the prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer. PDE5 inhibitors include a few approved drugs in which sildenafil (Viagra) is the most well-known. The article is published in Nature Communications./article/new-promising-treatment-uses-smart-nanoparticles-target-lung-cancerWed, 15 Jul 2020 13:56:08 +0000/article/new-promising-treatment-uses-smart-nanoparticles-target-lung-cancerA new and promising approach for treatment of lung cancer has been developed by researchers at �۶���Ƶ. The treatment combines a novel surgical approach with smart nanoparticles to specifically target lung tumors. The new study has been published in the July issue of Advanced Therapeutics./article/novel-biomarker-technology-cancer-diagnosticsWed, 15 Jul 2020 13:21:15 +0000/article/novel-biomarker-technology-cancer-diagnosticsA new way of identifying cancer biomarkers has been developed by researchers at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden. The new technology allows very sensitive, quick and cost-effective identification of cancer biomarkers. The research is published in Nature Communications Biology./article/starved-cancer-cells-became-more-sensitive-chemotherapyTue, 23 Jun 2020 14:15:17 +0000/article/starved-cancer-cells-became-more-sensitive-chemotherapyBy preventing sugar uptake, researchers succeeded in increasing the cancer cells’ sensitivity to chemotherapeutic treatment. The studies, led by researchers at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden, were carried out on cancer cells in a lab environment. The results were recently published in the research journal Haematologica./article/key-gene-leukemia-discoveredWed, 03 Jun 2020 10:57:13 +0000/article/key-gene-leukemia-discoveredAcute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the most common forms of blood cancer among adults and is associated with a low survival rate, and leads to the inhibition of normal blood formation. Now, a research team at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden has identified one of the genes that is the basis for leukemia stem cells’ survival and multiplication. The study is published in Cell Reports./article/antihistamines-may-help-patients-malignant-melanomaMon, 11 May 2020 10:37:12 +0000/article/antihistamines-may-help-patients-malignant-melanomaCan a very common allergy medicine improve survival among patients suffering from the serious skin cancer, malignant melanoma? A new study from �۶���Ƶ in Sweden indicates that this may be the case./article/rna-drugs-one-step-closer-be-being-used-cancer-treatmentTue, 14 Apr 2020 10:09:17 +0000/article/rna-drugs-one-step-closer-be-being-used-cancer-treatmentIn recent years, RNA molecules, with the ability to affect or turn off pathogenic genes, have become promising drug candidates in several areas. However, it has been a challenge to develop techniques to deliver the RNA molecules into the cells where they have an effect. Researchers at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden have now developed a sensitive technique that makes it possible to study the delivery into the cell, and have shown a possible way to effectively deliver RNA drugs to tumours. The study has now been published in Nature Communications./article/b-cells-linked-effective-cancer-immunotherapyThu, 16 Jan 2020 13:16:10 +0000/article/b-cells-linked-effective-cancer-immunotherapyCancer patients responded better to immunotherapy and had a better prognosis if their melanoma tumours contained specific clusters of B cells, according to new research from �۶���Ƶ in Sweden. The study is published in Nature./article/prestigious-erc-grant-innovative-immunotherapy-researchTue, 10 Dec 2019 12:56:47 +0000/article/prestigious-erc-grant-innovative-immunotherapy-researchThe European Research Council today announced the winners of its latest Consolidator Grant competition: 301 top scientists and scholars across Europe. Funding for these researchers, part of the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, is worth in total EUR 600 million. Filipe Pereira at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden is one of the 89 selected researchers, and will be awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant of EUR 2 million over a period of five years. /article/research-project-develop-innovative-strategy-cancer-therapyMon, 26 Aug 2019 09:51:32 +0000/article/research-project-develop-innovative-strategy-cancer-therapyThe first evidence was recently presented demonstrating how the immune system can be controlled by directly reprogramming connective tissue cells into immune cells. The discovery provides the opportunity to develop an entirely new strategy for targeted immunotherapy against cancer. /article/protein-linked-aggressive-skin-cancerFri, 28 Jun 2019 12:53:41 +0000/article/protein-linked-aggressive-skin-cancerAlmost 300,000 people worldwide develop malignant melanoma each year. The disease is the most serious form of skin cancer and the number of cases reported annually is increasing, making skin cancer one of Sweden’s most common forms of cancer. A research team at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden has studied a protein that regulates a gene which is linked to metastasis of malignant melanoma. /article/lung-cancer-early-diagnosis-leads-better-targeted-treatmentFri, 25 Jan 2019 23:00:00 +0000/article/lung-cancer-early-diagnosis-leads-better-targeted-treatmentEach year approximately four thousand people in Sweden are diagnosed with lung cancer and nearly as many die each year from the disease. It is the fifth most common form of cancer in Sweden and the one which claims the most victims. At �۶���Ƶ researchers are working on finding new methods to diagnose and treat the disease./article/immune-systems-supercell-how-it-maturesThu, 13 Dec 2018 14:41:18 +0000/article/immune-systems-supercell-how-it-maturesNK cells, or natural killer cells, play an important role in the body’s defences against cancer and various infections. Now, in a joint project, researchers at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden, the University of Oxford and Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm have mapped how the different steps of the maturation process of these supercells from blood producing stem cells in the bone marrow are regulated: knowledge which is crucial for the development of new immunotherapies against cancer./article/watch-code-reprogramming-immune-sentinelsFri, 07 Dec 2018 20:10:31 +0000/article/watch-code-reprogramming-immune-sentinelsFor the first time, a research team at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden has successfully reprogrammed mouse and human skin cells into immune cells called dendritic cells. The process is quick and effective, representing a pioneering contribution for applying direct reprogramming for inducing immunity. Importantly, the finding opens up the possibility of developing novel dendritic cell-based immunotherapies against cancer./article/new-blood-test-detects-early-stage-pancreatic-cancerMon, 17 Sep 2018 12:44:08 +0000/article/new-blood-test-detects-early-stage-pancreatic-cancerPancreatic cancer is currently very difficult to detect while it is still resectable. A new blood test developed by researchers at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden, Herlev Hospital, Knight Cancer Center and Immunovia AB, can detect pancreatic cancer in the very earliest stages of the disease. The results have been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology./article/high-survival-rate-after-childhood-cancer-what-costWed, 22 Aug 2018 22:00:00 +0000/article/high-survival-rate-after-childhood-cancer-what-costEven though childhood cancer is rare, it affects around 350 children and adolescents under the age of 18 each year in Sweden. That is almost one child every day. Due to improved treatment, 80 per cent of these children survive their cancer. Why do children develop cancer? That mystery has yet to be solved. /article/fluorescent-molecules-reveal-how-cancer-stem-cells-are-selectively-inhibitedMon, 25 Jun 2018 09:41:28 +0000/article/fluorescent-molecules-reveal-how-cancer-stem-cells-are-selectively-inhibitedA team of researchers at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden has developed a fluorescent variant of a molecule that inhibits cancer stem cells. Capturing images of when the molecule enters a cell has enabled the researchers, using cell-biological methods, to successfully describe how and where the molecule counteracts the cancer stem cells.