Bringing cancer research into clinical practice: Insights from SciLifeLab Science Summit and PROMISE Accelerating Cancer Innovation
SciLifeLab Science Summit 2026 focused on cancer research, state-of-the-art, multimodal technologies and how to translate discoveries into the clinic. Together with the PROMISE initiative, which held a meeting the same week, the two conferences provided a joint effort to highlight the research and clinical translation that is the result of over a century of Swedish cancer research, with deep dives into technologies in genomics, proteomics, imaging, and data science.
“In order to bring cancer discoveries into clinical practice we must connect expertise across disciplines. SciLifeLab Science Summit brings together researchers who develop technologies, study cancer biology and work with patients, and often by combining these roles. We learned today that implementation of multomics technologies in the oncology clinic is already a reality, both in Sweden and in other countries, a fact that promises that SciLifeLab’s mission is realistic”, said Aristidis Moustakas, Scientific Director SciLifeLab and member of the scientific committee of SciLifeLab Science Summit.
During the two events, researchers working in academia, industry and healthcare came together to learn and discuss how cancer research discoveries can be translated into clinical practice to benefit patients. Many combine research with clinical work, bringing both perspectives to the discussions. Both programs focused on cancer diagnostics, state-of-the art treatment and how AI breakthroughs contribute to informed decision-making among clinicians.
In his welcoming remarks for the SciLifeLab Science Summit, SciLifeLab Director Jan Ellenberg reflected on the special era that life science is in today, where it can combine unprecedented depth of data from the molecular technology revolution with AI technology and data-driven science.
“At SciLifeLab, we empower life science research as well as healthcare by providing cutting-edge technologies and data services. We strategically develop and make use of AI models to analyze large and complex life science data sets and identify where we need to produce new data. To take advantage of the unique opportunities provided by AI for life science we need to ensure high quality and sovereignty of our data resources as well as openness and reproducibility of the AI models we use. Similarly it is key that our staff are well equipped to use AI in a responsible way, in line with the core principles of science, including transparent methods, reproducible models and testable hypotheses. In healthcare, our greatest impact is through translating our technologies and data services to clinical application, for example for earlier cancer diagnostics and more precise treatment treatment, enabling data-driven precision medicine of the future”, said Jan Ellenberg.
The summit’s focus on translating cancer discoveries into clinical practice also reflects the ambition of Precision Omics Initiative Sweden (PROMISE) to strengthen links between research and healthcare. By combining advanced molecular technologies with clinical and health data, PROMISE seeks to improve our understanding of cancer, rare diseases and common diseases, and accelerate the development of more precise diagnostics and individually tailored treatments. The PROMISE conference took place the day before the SciLifeLab Science Summit.
“The PROMISE Cancer conference was a very successful event, bringing together researchers and clinicians with a strong motivation to transform cancer diagnosis and care by applying omics techniques in healthcare,” says Karin Forsberg Nilsson, professor at Uppsala University and scientific committee member for PROMISE’s Accelerating Cancer Innovation
Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, professor at Uppsala University and Broad Institute, co-founder of the PROMISE initiative and former SciLifeLab co-director continued:
“The talks and discussions included great examples of how omics is already used to guide clinical decisions, but there is an urgent need to expand these efforts for the benefits of the patients”, she said.
Mohamed Elhusseiny, cancer researcher from Linköping University has a research focus on cancer metabolism and metabolic programming and attended the SciLifeLab Science Summit to partake in the conversation.
“I look forward to learning more about the latest techniques and methods that could help us clinicians to advance our translational work on pancreatic cancer,” Mohamed Elhusseiny said.
The combination of these two events provided a very positive outlook on Swedish cancer research while also showcasing a way forward towards clinical adaptation, inspiring both senior and early-career researchers.
“I found it very interesting and fun to see how all of this is connected to my studies and the breadth of research presented. I wanted to visit this event to get inspired and learn more about the latest developments in cancer research”, Lovisa Drevstad, master student in precision medicine at Uppsala University concluded.
