Cancer Research at Almedalen Week 2024
Cancer Research KI (CRKI), the Karolinska Comprehensive Cancer Center (KCCC), and the Precision Medicine Center Karolinska (PMCK) held seminars on precision medicine during Almedalen Week 2024. The discussions at the two-day event focused on whether precision medicine is a cost or an investment, and how to implement precision medicine for everyone, from diagnostics to treatment.
Almedalen Week is a unique political and societal event held annually in Visby, Gotland. It brings together politicians, representatives from organizations, the media, and the general public for informal and inspiring discussions on a wide range of societal issues, including politics, business, healthcare, and more.
This year CRKI and Karolinska CCC teamed up with Precision Medicine Center Karolinska (PMCK) from the hospital to have two seminars on precision medicine at Folkhälsodalen as part of the Almedalen Week. The moderator for both events was Göran Hägglund.
Precision medicine – cost or investment?
Tuesday’s seminar aimed to discuss the National Roadmap for Precision Medicine and described some of the challenges that it has faced. The discussion showed some of the developments and what remains to fully implement precision medicine in Swedish healthcare. There was an open request for a clearer mandate on who will lead the development. As well as a request for coordination, at a national level, to overbridge regional differences in both hospital guidelines, data sharing and sample handling. More research doctors who can and want to do clinical studies are needed, and the competence supply for precision medicine is not enough to cope with the changes. The healthcare system does not have the money to address these issues alone, it requires money from the government and without that extra funding and centralized coordination Sweden will not be able to keep up with the developments in precision medicine that occurs internationally.
From KI participated Annika Östman Wernerson, the KI president, and Päivi Östling, scientific leader for precision medicine, SciLifeLab. From KS attended Karolinska's acting-hospital director Patrik Rossi. Other participants where Edvin Bernhardsson (KD), political expert with Health Minister Acko Ankarberg Johansson and Margareta Haag, chairman of the Network against cancer.
Precision medicine for everyone – from diagnostics to treatment
Wednesday’s seminar focused on how precision medicine should be implemented in everyday healthcare and pointed out some of the challenges. The discussion described the patients’ demand for these new techniques and the struggle to implement them in health care with wider access for all. Moreover, there was a request for the health care system to organize precision medicine care in multidisciplinary teams, with a lot of cooperation between region and university hospitals. Education is important for this to happen, and the intention is to spread competence in precision medicine in the healthcare system evenly on a national scale.
From KI participated Pernilla Grillner, researcher and acting director of operations for highly specialized pediatric medicine, Karolinska University Hospital and Richard Rosenquist Brandell, professor and director Genomic Medicine Sweden (GMS). Other participants were Karin Liljelund, vice-chairman of the Lung Cancer Association, Kjell Ivarsson, national cancer coordinator at the Regional Cancer Center in (RCC), and Mattias Fredricson, head of the Department for the development of healthcare at system level at Socialstyrelsen, the National Board of Health and Welfare.