Sandra Eloranta

Senior Lecturer | Docent
Visiting address: ,
Postal address: K2 Medicin, Solna, K2 KEP Ekström Smedby K Eloranta S, 171 77 Stockholm
Part of:

About me

  • I am a mathematical statistician and /Docent/ in clinical epidemiology with more than 15 years’ experience of population-based cancer research. My main methodological interests are in statistical and epidemiological methods used for investigating population-based cancer patient survival and cancer survivorship issues, specifically in lymphoma. In my role as principal researcher I am also team leader for a group of Phd students and statisticians within the cancer epidemiology group that is based at the Division of Clinical Epidemiology [1], Department of Medicine, Solna.
    At present I am supervising 5 PhD students who work with various projects related to lymphoma survival, late effects after lymphoma treatment,
    childbearing after a diagnosis or lymphoma and cancer risk/prognosis after organ transplantation. I am also a keen teacher and frequent lecturer at the clinical research schools hosted by the Division of Clinical Epidemiology.
    I am also the director of Clinicum [2], an organization at KI together with the major health care
    providers in Region Stockholm that provides methodological support to reearchers. The target group for Clinicum is researchers that use health and medical care data in research at KI and/or within the Stockholm Region.

    Docent (Associate professor), Clinical Epidemiology (2020)
    PhD Medical Science, Karolinska Institutet (2013).
    Title of Thesis:/ Development and application of statistical methods for
    population-based cancer patient. (Supervisor: Prof Paul Dickman).
    MSc Mathematics, Uppsala University (2006).

    [1] https://ki.se/en/meds/kep-cancer-epidemiology
    [2] https://ki.se/clinicum

Research

  • My research on childbearing after treatment with immuno-chemotherapy for aggressive lymphoma is supported by the Swedish Cancer Society, and Karolinska Institutets stiftelser.

    My research team includes:
    Fanny Bergström, Mathematical statistician
    Ida Hed Myrberg, Biostatistician
    Stefanie Antonilli, Biostatistician
    Johan Zetterqvist, Biostatistician

Teaching

  • *PhD supervision*

    Joel Joelsson is an MD studying survival and surviorship issues among patients with Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). Specifically Joel's
    studies address the risk for secondary solid tumours and treatment-related myeloid neoplasms after treatment for Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma. 

    Past PhD students

    Rasmus Rask Kragh Jørgensen is a mathematician based at Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark, and is performing a project on prognostic modelling of prognosis after both Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

    Joshua Entrop has a Master degree in public health and studies childbearing patterns after modern-day intensive immunochemotherapy in young
    Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivors and performs studies in collaboration with the epidemiology working group of the Nordic lymphoma group [2]. His project is supported by the Swedish Cancer Society and the Nordic Cancer.


    Sara Harrysson is an MD with a specific interest in survival, relapse and cardiac events after a diagnosis of aggressive B-cell lymphoma. Her research focus is specifically to investigate treatment outcome and predictors in relapsed and treatment-refractory Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma by clinical, demographic and biological characteristics, as well as the incidence, characteristics and timing of cardiovascular events (particularly acute
    coronary syndrome) among anthracycline-treated patients. Sara defended her thesis: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma : population-based studies of relapse and cardiac complications in March 2023.

    Henrik Benoni is an MD investigating cancer risk and prognosis following solid organ transplantation. His research aims to identify determinants of cancer risk among kidney transplant recipients and to estimate absolute risks and timing of increased cancer risks in a Nordic cohort of kidney transplant recipients. His PhD studies also look into if solid organ transplant recipients have a worse cancer prognosis than the general cancer population (unexposed to organ transplantation). Henrik defended his thesis: Cancer after solid organ transplantation – incidence, risk factors, and survival in December 2022.

    Sara Ekberg has a background in mathematical statistics and studied patterns and trends in the incidence, prevalence and survival as
    well as survivorship issues among patients diagnosed with the most common non-hodgkin lymphoma subtypes in Sweden, with a focus on Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma. Her studies originated in data from the Swedish lymphoma register and were conducted in collaboration with researchers from the Swedish Lymphoma Group. Sara defended her thesis: Long-term survival and survivorship in non-Hodgkin Lymphoma patients in Sweden in January 2021.

    Elsa Brånvall is a specialist in hematology and internal medicine studied the role of medication history in the etiology and prognosis of
    lymphoma subtypes. Specifically her studies investigated if the use of aspirin or NSAIDs or cholesterol-lowering medications (such as statins)
    decreased the risk of developing lymphoma, and if they were associated with an improved the prognosis of lymphoma. Elsa defended her thesis: Common medications in the risk and prognosis of lymphoid neoplasms and epidemiology of primary CNS lymphoma in December 2020.

    Caroline Weibull is a mathematical statistician with a research focus on survivorship issues after Hodgkin lymphoma. The specific aims were to
    describe trends in childbearing by clinical characteristics and to investigate the association between pregnancy and risk for relapse among
    women in remission following a diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma. Her studies also aimed to shed light on if the decline in treatment-related mortality of diseases of the circulatory system is associated with less toxic treatments or improved follow-up and care. Her thesis work included methodological development as well as applied statistical work. Caroline defended her thesis: Survivorship in Hodgkin Lymphoma: childbearing and treatment-related disease in November 2018.

    Lingjing Chen has a background in medicine and public health and completed her thesis, entitled: Rectal cancer surviorship: work loss and
    long-term morbidity in December 2017.

    *Teaching merits*
    I am a specialist in statistical methods for competing risks and frequently invited to give presentations on this topic. I have for example been invited
    to give lectures and courses aimed towards both statisticians and non-statisticians at, for example, the University of Lund (Sweden), the
    University of Umeå (Sweden), The Arctic University of Tromsö (Norway), the Regional Cancer Center in Stockholm, the annual meeting of the Network of Epidemiology and Nutrition, as well as the Summer School on Modern Methods in Biostatistics and Epidemiology (Italy) organized jointly by Harvard School of Public Health, University of Milano-Bicocca and Karolinska Institutet.
    I also teach the fundamental principles of good research documentation practise in medical research. These lectures typically cover a wide range of
    topics related to data management; from practical issues related to data collection, reproducible research processes, archiving, to theoretical
    lectures on ethical considerations and Swedish laws that govern epidemiological research. I was also the first author of a book chapter on
    this topic published by Läkartidningen in 2015 (Verktyg för klinisk forskning [2]).

    [1] http://www.nordic-lymphoma.org/
    [2] http://www.lakartidningen.se/Samlingssidor/Serie-Verktyg-for-klinisk-forskning/

Articles

All other publications

Grants

  • Survivorship after aggressive lymphoma in the era of intensive immunochemotherapy
    The Swedish Cancer Society
    1 January 2023 - 31 December 2025
  • Swedish Cancer Society
    1 January 2023
    Cancer survivorship is the field of research that includes issues that revolve around the patients' journey from the time of diagnosis, the subsequent treatment period and then on in life as a cancer survivor. In this field, questions such as are linked to how you feel after your treatment important for both patients, relatives and caregivers. As new treatment options become available, it is important to investigate how these treatments affect patients in the long term as well. Today, it is unusual for cancer treatment and patient return visits to be individually tailored, taking into account the possible future risk of long-term complications Lymphoma is a collective name for cancers that arise in our lymphatic system. Different types of lymphoma can differ significantly in terms of symptoms, diagnostics and treatment, but common to all lymphoma diseases is that they are often treated with chemotherapy. However, the treatment itself can mean that the patients have difficulty having children in the future, as well as lead to an increased risk of both heart disease and new forms of cancer several years after the treatment. As lymphoma is the fourth most common form of cancer among young people, it is particularly important to understand how to both promote early detection of late effects but also reduce the risk overall. The aim of the project is to investigate several important aspects of lymphoma survival
    the possibility of having children after various lymphoma treatments, as well as the risk of suffering from heart disease or a new cancer later in life. By using new types of models, with this project we want to increase the current state of knowledge regarding these late effects by identifying particularly vulnerable patient groups that would benefit most from long-term clinical follow-up. There is currently a lack of national follow-up programs aimed at early detection of late effects among lymphoma patients, but we hope that results from these studies can contribute to new such guidelines.
  • Real-world outcomes in lymphoma and long-term benefit/risk balance of available therapies - A Nordic, multidisciplinary research program
    Nordic Cancer Union
    1 January 2022 - 31 December 2024
  • Swedish Cancer Society
    1 January 2020
    Among people under the age of 40, lymphoma is the fourth most common type of cancer. Lymphoma is a collective name for cancers that occur in the cells that make up our lymphatic system. Different types of lymphoma can differ significantly in terms of symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, but common to all lymphoma diseases is that they are often treated with cytotoxic drugs. If effective treatment is started at the right time, the prognosis is often good. However, the treatment itself can lead to patients finding it more difficult to have children in the future. As lymphoma affects young patients, issues related to childbirth are therefore very relevant for both caregivers and patients. The purpose of the project is to investigate young lymphoma survivors' ability to have children after different types of lymphoma treatment and to study whether the children born after completion of treatment are healthy. As lymphoma is, after all, relatively uncommon, we will include lymphoma patients from three Nordic countries in order to increase the size and reliability of the studies. This allows us to compare how the possibility of having children is affected based on the type of lymphoma and how intensive chemotherapy has been used. We will also study childbirth according to relatively unusual types of lymphoma, and whether the chances of having children are different for women and men. Young lymphoma patients often express a concern about the effect their cancer and planned treatment will have on the chances of having children later in life, and the health of their future children. For the patient groups that will be included in these studies, there is currently a lack of sufficient scientific evidence to address this type of question. The aim of the project is therefore to increase the state of knowledge regarding lymphoma treatment and its impact on future childbirth. This in turn can assist in decision-making regarding guidelines for lymphoma treatment as well as recommendations regarding fertility counseling and fertility-preserving treatment in lymphoma patients.
  • Childbearing after modern-day intensive chemotherapy in young Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivors
    Swedish Cancer Society
    1 January 2019
    Among people under the age of 40, lymphoma is the fourth most common type of cancer. Lymphoma is a collective name for cancers that occur in the cells that make up our lymphatic system. Different types of lymphoma can differ significantly in terms of symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, but common to all lymphoma diseases is that they are often treated with cytotoxic drugs. If effective treatment is started at the right time, the prognosis is often good. However, the treatment itself can lead to patients finding it more difficult to have children in the future. As lymphoma affects young patients, issues related to childbirth are therefore very relevant for both caregivers and patients. The purpose of the project is to investigate young lymphoma survivors' ability to have children after different types of lymphoma treatment and to study whether the children born after completion of treatment are healthy. As lymphoma is, after all, relatively uncommon, we will include lymphoma patients from three Nordic countries in order to increase the size and reliability of the studies. This allows us to compare how the possibility of having children is affected based on the type of lymphoma and how intensive chemotherapy has been used. We will also study childbirth according to relatively unusual types of lymphoma, and whether the chances of having children are different for women and men. Young lymphoma patients often express a concern about the effect their cancer and planned treatment will have on the chances of having children later in life, and the health of their future children. For the patient groups that will be included in these studies, there is currently a lack of sufficient scientific evidence to address this type of question. The aim of the project is therefore to increase the state of knowledge regarding lymphoma treatment and its impact on future childbirth. This in turn can assist in decision-making regarding guidelines for lymphoma treatment as well as recommendations regarding fertility counseling and fertility-preserving treatment in lymphoma patients.

Employments

  • Senior Lecturer, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 2025-
  • Principal Researcher, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 2022-2025

Degrees and Education

  • Docent, Karolinska Institutet, 2020
  • Degree Of Doctor Of Philosophy, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 2013

Leadership and responsibility assignments

  • Project leader, Clinicum Implementation Project, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, 2023-
  • Research team leader, Team Sandra Eloranta, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, 2022-

Supervision

  • Supervision to doctoral degree

    • Ida Hed Myrberg, 2023-
    • Ida Hed Myrberg, 2023-
    • Joshua Entrop, Childbearing after modern-day intensive immunochemotherapy in young Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivors, https://ki.se/en/people/joshua-entrop, 2020-
    • Caroline Weibull, Survivorship in Hodgkin lymphoma : childbearing and treatment-related disease, https://openarchive.ki.se/xmlui/handle/10616/46467, 2018
    • Joelsson Joel, Second malignancies after non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis and early identification of patients with poor outcomes

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