Hanna Eriksson's Group

Our overall objective is to optimally inform clinical decision-making and improve the outcome from early disease to advanced melanoma. The research has a clear clinical  and translational approach by using large-scale register data, recent technical advances including artificial intelligence and multi-omics analyses in a real-world environment and within clinical trials. Specifically, we focus on the interplay between the immune system and the tumor immune microenvironment to identify factors blocking the synergy between therapies.

Several key questions remain to increase the clinical outcome in melanoma: 1) poorly understood survival differences in sub-groups of melanoma patients; 2) lack of effective strategies to overcome resistance to immunotherapy and immune-related toxicities; 3) limited knowledge of treatment outcomes in a real-world environment.

Projects

• Artificial Intelligence in Melanoma Diagnostics -  the AIDMel trial.
• Large-scale register analyses to investigate risk and survival in melanoma focusing on common drugs with a potential immunomodulatory effect and loss of life expectancy in melanoma.
• Real-world outcome analyses of melanoma therapies.
• Treatment predictive and prognostic biomarkers in melanoma with a specific foucs on brain metastastic disease and mucosal melanoma.
• Novel strategies to resensitise resistant melanoma to standard immunotherapy by augmenting anti-melanoma immune responses.
• Validation of underlying molecular resistance mechanisms to immune therapies in vitro, and to test the efficacy of novel interventions in animal models.
• Gender Differences in sidE eFfects of ImmuNotherapy: a possible clue to optimize cancEr tReatment - the G-DEFINER trial.
• Development of a Quality of Life Module for Patients with Advanced Melanoma (EORTC QoL Melanoma Module)

Group members

Hanna Eriksson Associate Professor, MD, PhD, Group leader
Isabelle Krakowski MD, PhD student.
Sofi Vikström MD, PhD student.
Johan Franzén MD, PhD student.
Nidhi Sharma PhD, postdoc.
Silvia Angori PhD, postdoc.
Alia Shamikh MD, PhD, postdoc.

Funding

• The Swedish Research Council.
• The Swedish Cancer Society.
• Horizon 2020; GenderNet-Plus.
• Radiumhemmet Research Funds.
• Stockholm Regional Council.
• Translational Seed Funding Grant.
• Karolinska Institutet.
• The Swedish Medical Society.
• Cancer- och Allergi Fonden

Selected publications

Association of metformin use and survival in patients with cutaneous melanoma and diabetes.
Krakowski I, Häbel H, Nielsen K, Ingvar C, Andersson TML, Girnita A, Smedby KE, Eriksson H
Br J Dermatol 2023 Jan;188(1):32-40

Survival update of neoadjuvant ipilimumab plus nivolumab in macroscopic stage III melanoma in the OpACIN and OpACIN-neo trials.
Versluis JM, Menzies AM, Sikorska K, Rozeman EA, Saw RPM, van Houdt WJ, Eriksson H, Klop WMC, Ch'ng S, van Thienen JV, Mallo H, Gonzalez M, Torres Acosta A, Grijpink-Ongering LG, van der Wal A, Bruining A, van de Wiel BA, Scolyer RA, Haanen JBAG, Schumacher TN, van Akkooi ACJ, Long GV, Blank CU
Ann Oncol 2023 Apr;34(4):420-430

Plasma proteome alterations by MAPK inhibitors in BRAFV600-mutated metastatic cutaneous melanoma.
Babačić H, Eriksson H*, Pernemalm M*
Neoplasia 2021 Aug;23(8):783-791
*Shared last author

Pathological response and tumour bed histopathological features correlate with survival following neoadjuvant immunotherapy in stage III melanoma.
Rawson RV, Adhikari C, Bierman C, Lo SN, Shklovskaya E, Rozeman EA, Menzies AM, van Akkooi ACJ, Shannon KF, Gonzalez M, Guminski AD, Tetzlaff MT, Stretch JR, Eriksson H, van Thienen JV, Wouters MW, Haanen JBAG, Klop WMC, Zuur CL, van Houdt WJ, Nieweg OE, Ch'ng S, Rizos H, Saw RPM, Spillane AJ, Wilmott JS, Blank CU, Long GV, van de Wiel BA, Scolyer RA
Ann Oncol 2021 Jun;32(6):766-777

Survival and biomarker analyses from the OpACIN-neo and OpACIN neoadjuvant immunotherapy trials in stage III melanoma.
Rozeman EA, Hoefsmit EP, Reijers ILM, Saw RPM, Versluis JM, Krijgsman O, Dimitriadis P, Sikorska K, van de Wiel BA, Eriksson H, Gonzalez M, Torres Acosta A, Grijpink-Ongering LG, Shannon K, Haanen JBAG, Stretch J, Ch'ng S, Nieweg OE, Mallo HA, Adriaansz S, Kerkhoven RM, Cornelissen S, Broeks A, Klop WMC, Zuur CL, van Houdt WJ, Peeper DS, Spillane AJ, van Akkooi ACJ, Scolyer RA, Schumacher TNM, Menzies AM, Long GV, Blank CU
Nat Med 2021 Feb;27(2):256-263

Impact of modern systemic therapies and clinical markers on treatment outcome for metastatic melanoma in a real-world setting.
Krakowski I, Bottai M, Häbel H, Masucci G, Girnita A, Smedby KE, Eriksson H
J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2021 Jan;35(1):105-115

In-depth plasma proteomics reveals increase in circulating PD-1 during anti-PD-1 immunotherapy in patients with metastatic cutaneous melanoma.
Babačić H, Lehtiö J, Pico de Coaña Y, Pernemalm M, Eriksson H
J Immunother Cancer 2020 May;8(1):

Factors Affecting Sentinel Node Metastasis in Thin (T1) Cutaneous Melanomas: Development and External Validation of a Predictive Nomogram.
Maurichi A, Miceli R, Eriksson H, Newton-Bishop J, Nsengimana J, Chan M, Hayes AJ, Heelan K, Adams D, Patuzzo R, Barretta F, Gallino G, Harwood C, Bergamaschi D, Bennett D, Lasithiotakis K, Ghiorzo P, Dalmasso B, Manganoni A, Consoli F, Mattavelli I, Barbieri C, Leva A, Cortinovis U, Espeli V, Mangas C, Quaglino P, Ribero S, Broganelli P, Pellacani G, Longo C, Del Forno C, Borgognoni L, Sestini S, Pimpinelli N, Fortunato S, Chiarugi A, Nardini P, Morittu E, Florita A, Cossa M, Valeri B, Milione M, Pruneri G, Zoras O, Anichini A, Mortarini R, Santinami M
J Clin Oncol 2020 May;38(14):1591-1601

Immunometabolic Network Interactions of the Kynurenine Pathway in Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma.
Rad Pour S, Morikawa H, Kiani NA, Gomez-Cabrero D, Hayes A, Zheng X, Pernemalm M, Lehtiö J, Mole DJ, Hansson J, Eriksson H, Tegnér J
Front Oncol 2020 ;10():51

2-cm versus 4-cm surgical excision margins for primary cutaneous melanoma thicker than 2 mm: long-term follow-up of a multicentre, randomised trial.
Utjés D, Malmstedt J, Teras J, Drzewiecki K, Gullestad HP, Ingvar C, Eriksson H*, Gillgren P*
Lancet 2019 Aug;394(10197):471-477
*Shared last author

Identification of the optimal combination dosing schedule of neoadjuvant ipilimumab plus nivolumab in macroscopic stage III melanoma (OpACIN-neo): a multicentre, phase 2, randomised, controlled trial.
Rozeman EA, Menzies AM, van Akkooi ACJ, Adhikari C, Bierman C, van de Wiel BA, Scolyer RA, Krijgsman O, Sikorska K, Eriksson H, Broeks A, van Thienen JV, Guminski AD, Acosta AT, Ter Meulen S, Koenen AM, Bosch LJW, Shannon K, Pronk LM, Gonzalez M, Ch'ng S, Grijpink-Ongering LG, Stretch J, Heijmink S, van Tinteren H, Haanen JBAG, Nieweg OE, Klop WMC, Zuur CL, Saw RPM, van Houdt WJ, Peeper DS, Spillane AJ, Hansson J, Schumacher TN, Long GV, Blank CU
Lancet Oncol 2019 Jul;20(7):948-960

Spatially Resolved Transcriptomics Enables Dissection of Genetic Heterogeneity in Stage III Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma.
Thrane K*, Eriksson H*, Maaskola J, Hansson J, Lundeberg J
Cancer Res 2018 Oct;78(20):5970-5979
*Shared first author

Reduced disease-specific survival following a diagnosis of multiple primary cutaneous malignant melanomas-a nationwide, population-based study.
Utjés D, Lyth J, Lapins J, Eriksson H
Int J Cancer 2017 Dec;141(11):2243-2252

BRAFV600E protein expression in primary cutaneous malignant melanomas and paired metastases.
Eriksson H, Zebary A, Vassilaki I, Omholt K, Ghaderi M, Hansson J
JAMA Dermatol 2015 Apr;151(4):410-6

Later stage at diagnosis and worse survival in cutaneous malignant melanoma among men living alone: a nationwide population-based study from Sweden.
Eriksson H, Lyth J, Månsson-Brahme E, Frohm-Nilsson M, Ingvar C, Lindholm C, Naredi P, Stierner U, Carstensen J, Hansson J
J Clin Oncol 2014 May;32(13):1356-64