Cecilia Radkiewicz

Postdoctoral researcher in cancer epidemiology, Jesper Lagergren's group
Assistant consultant in medical oncology, Capio Sankt Görans Sjukhus
Director of studies, the Research School in Epidemiology for Clinicians 2020/2022

I have a combined employment, performing cancer epidemiology research together with clinical work as a medical oncologist at the Department of Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet and Capio Sankt Görans Sjukhus, respectively.

PhD, medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 2019
Specialist degree, medical oncology, Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare, 2018
MD, Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare, 2010
BSc, medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 2008

My research primarily focuses on clinical cancer epidemiology. I work with large-scale data by linking multiple Swedish and Nordic population-based health and demographic registers, all of which have high national coverage. This enables robust analyses of trends over different time periods. I employ state-of-the-art statistical methods to describe and illustrate observational research findings, facilitating clinical inferences. In quantifying cancer mortality and comparing survival across patient populations, I apply relative survival and flexible parametric regression models. Additionally, I have a strong interest in using interactive, pedagogical tools to present research findings in an accessible manner.

Swedish Anti-Cancer Therapy (SeACT)

I am the principal investigator and driving force behind the Swedish Anti-Cancer Therapy (SeACT) project, an academic initiative aimed at collecting Swedish medical record data on cancer drugs from the electronic prescription systems CytoBase, Cytodos, and Mosaiq. The objective is to conduct pharmacoepidemiological studies on cancer treatment in Sweden. This study has undergone ethical review, with Karolinska Institutet serving as the lead institution.

Background. Each year, approximately 70, 000 individuals are diagnosed with malignancy in Sweden. While cancer incidence continues to rise, a growing proportion of patients are either cured or live longer with cancer due to advancements in early detection, new medications, and optimized treatment algorithms. However, in routine healthcare settings, the impact on mortality is lower, and the risk of side effects is higher compared to clinical trials, which often focus on selected patient groups with limited follow-up. Despite the serious side effects and high financial costs associated with cancer drugs, there is currently no systematic way to monitor their effectiveness and safety in Sweden

Main Objective. The SeACT project aims to conduct phase IV (real-world data) studies to evaluate the short- and long-term effects, safety, and accessibility of cancer drugs in a population-based Swedish setting.

Study Design and Data Collection. Most cancer drugs are administered as requisition drugs in hospitals. For the past two decades, these data have been stored in three electronic prescription systems (Cytodos, CytoBase, and Mosaiq) across Sweden. The study will link treatment data from these systems and the National Prescribed Drug Register to all individuals in the National Cancer Register. This cancer cohort will subsequently be linked to other population-based health and demographic registers, including the National Cause of Death, Patient, and Medical Birth Registers held at National Board of Health and Welfare) as well as the Total Population Register and LISA database, held at Statistics Sweden.

The statistical analyses will be conducted as a series of retrospective cohort studies, following Swedish cancer patients from the date of diagnosis, relapse, surgery, or treatment initiation. The research will focus on real-world cancer survival and the evaluation of acute and late side effects across different treatments and patient groups. Additionally, the study will investigate how outcomes are influenced by age, sex, comorbidities, and concurrent medications.

Project Timeline. As of 2025, requests have been submitted to all Swedish healthcare regions/providers to obtain anti-cancer therapy data from their respective electronic prescription systems. Data collection is actively underway, and we anticipate gathering treatment data from all regions by mid-2025. The first sub-study is expected to be submitted for publication in 2026.

Throughout my oncology residency, I have been committed to teaching and leading seminars in clinical oncology as part of the medical education at Karolinska Institutet. In 2017/2018, I held a teaching position where I coordinated and planned the palliative care education for medical students as part of the clinical oncology course.

From 2019 to 2022, I was responsible for the oncology rotation at the Upper Gastrointestinal Department at Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset, Huddinge. In 2020-2022, I served as Director of Studies at the KI/SLL Research School in Epidemiology for Clinicians, Generation 19.

Since 2024, I have been responsible for organizing the Swedish Oncology Association-run and recommended course in medical evidence for oncology residents.