Amelie on cancer research and the 75th anniversary of the Swedish Cancer Society

This week I attended an event marking the 75th anniversary of the Swedish Cancer Society (Cancerfonden), which was interesting – particularly considering that today the Swedish Cancer Society is one of the CBH School’s ten largest external research funders.

In addition to the projects funded by the Swedish Cancer Society, the CBH School also has many other research projects addressing cancer-related issues, supported by funding from other organisations. At the anniversary event, an overview was presented of the most important advances made over the past 75 years, which have increased our understanding of cancer and the possibilities for effective treatment.

It is staggering to think that when the Swedish Cancer Society was founded in 1951, only three out of ten people diagnosed with cancer survived. Today, however, the goal is for the ten-year survival rate to be at least 80 per cent by 2030 – an ambitious, but not impossible, target.

One example of a new breakthrough technology is CAR-T therapy, which has shown very promising results and has now become an established treatment for certain types of cancer. To further improve cancer survival rates, more research is needed, and here at KTH we can contribute through technological development in areas such as immunotherapy, gene therapy, cell therapy, precision medicine and early diagnostics.

/Amelie