Fredrik Lundberg donates SEK 30 million to colorectal cancer research
Businessman Fredrik Lundberg is donating SEK 30 million to Karolinska Institutet and a research project looking into how the immune system can combat colorectal cancer and prevent it spreading.
Every year, some 7,000 Swedes are diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The tumour metastasises in almost half of the patients, which greatly worsens the prognoses. An increasing number of people under the age of 50 are now diagnosed with the disease.
Fredrik Lundberg’s donation is being invested in a research project that aims to map out the tumour immune system in order that more accurate prognoses can be made and to find better ways to treat colorectal cancer. The project is led by surgeon Caroline Nordenvall, docent at Karolinska Institutet and assistant consultant at Karolinska University Hospital, and Jenny Mjösberg, professor of tissue immunology at Karolinska Institutet.
“Current immunotherapies work for a minority of patients with colorectal cancer,” says Dr Nordenvall, who leads a 40-strong research group, one of Sweden’s largest, in the field of colorectal surgery. “Our aim is to combat the cancer by finding new points of attack for triggering the patient’s own immune system.”
Saving lives before the cancer spreads
In the present project, the group is studying how the tumour immune system works at different stages of the disease. But mapping the immune cell genome in the tumour tissue, they hope to identify new therapeutic targets and biomarkers that can predict the risk of spread or relapse. This can help make treatments more effective.
“Thanks to modern techniques we can analyse each individual immune cell, giving us a better understanding of the mechanisms that govern the tumour’s immune response and of what determines whether the tumour will respond to treatment or spread,” says Professor Mjösberg.
Significance to other cancers
Their study has already included over 120 patients at Karolinska University Hospital. With Fredrik Lundberg’s support, the project can now be scaled up to include more hospitals in the Stockholm region and more patients.
The results of their research are of potential significance to other types of cancer.
“This isn’t just about colorectal cancer,” says Dr Nordenvall. “Our findings could one day prove of benefit to patients who have other types of cancer with similar immunological properties.”
Long-term financing with tangible effect
Fredrik Lundberg is a businessman and principal shareholder of the investment and ownership company L E Lundbergföretagen AB, which has been supporting medical research and innovative projects through its generous donations for the past two decades. He has had a long-term involvement with Karolinska Institutet, and when he was made honorary doctor in 2023, he stressed the value of research that makes a tangible difference to people’s lives:
“I find it very stimulating and purposeful to finance skilled, qualified cancer researchers and I’ll be following their work with great interest,” he says.