Gustav Stålhammar

My research focuses on predicting and preventing mortality and morbidity from ocular and periocular tumors, primarily uveal melanoma—the most common primary intraocular malignancy in adults. Despite surgical removal of the eye, nearly half of these patients develop metastases, likely due to micrometastatic cells that leave the primary tumor at an early stage. These cells can remain dormant in sites such as bone marrow or liver for years; once they exit dormancy, patient prognosis is poor, with a median survival of only 4–15 months. Uveal melanoma is thus a deadly disease with unpredictable outcomes and few treatment options. My goal is to help change this.

I serve as Principal Investigator for AMUM (NCT05502900)—the world’s longest-running randomized trial of adjuvant treatment for uveal melanoma.

I also work to expand our knowledge of retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular tumor in children. In national and international collaborations, we are studying how chromosomal and genetic alterations affect survival. We are additionally using digital image analysis to identify changes in cell size and shape that correlate with a worse prognosis.