Photo: The Embassy of Denmark in Norway

Ministers meet at Oslo Cancer Cluster

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Danish Foreign Minister meets with Norwegian Trade Minister at Oslo Cancer Cluster

The corona pandemic and international trade were on the top of the agenda when the Foreign Minister of Denmark Jeppe Kofod met with the Minister for Trade, Industry and Fisheries of Norway Iselin Nybø at Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park.

Norway and Denmark are close friends and allies, and the current corona situation has made conversations between Nordic colleagues more valuable than ever.

Export, international trade and investments will be crucial to overcoming the challenges the corona pandemic has brought to Nordic economies.

These pressing issues were discussed when the two ministers from Denmark and Norway met at Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park on 13 August 2020.

Ministers Nybø and Kofod

Ministers Nybø and Kofod discussed how to increase export from and attract international investments to the Nordic countries. Photo: The Embassy of Denmark in Norway

The starting point of the meeting was how many companies in the health industry need access to international markets and value chains to grow.

The Norwegian government are preparing an Export Action Plan. It will include several measures to help Norwegian industry come through the corona crisis.

“In the development of the Export Action Plan, the government is collaborating with both industry and financial organisations. We want to gain as much knowledge as possible about where the challenges lie and evaluate which measures are most effective,” Nybø said in a press release from the Department of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.

The Embassy of Denmark in Norway released the following statement after the meeting:

“It is important to attract foreign investments and there is a big potential in Nordic collaboration within the life science sector, since Denmark and Norway have complementary competencies in this field.”

Ketil Widerberg, general manager at Oslo Cancer Cluster, was happy to facilitate the visit and to give input to the ministers on how international collaboration helps the development of cancer treatments:

“Denmark and Norway collaborate on important research areas, including cancer. Our countries have national health data that attract international recognition. Our countries also collaborate on purchasing of developed drugs.

“The opportunity now is the collaboration on how to use our health data and collaborative efforts to better and faster approve new innovative treatments.

“This could reduce development time from 10 to 5 years, and make the Nordics a destination for health innovation.”

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Siri Lill Mannes was host for the meeting on more comprehensive cancer care in Norway, looking at both diagnostics, treatments and exercise plans.

A digital bootcamp for better cancer care

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Digital bootcamp for better cancer care

Molecular diagnostics, clinical studies and exercise plans for cancer patients were three key topics raised in last week’s event.

We teamed up with Aktiv mot Kreft, Merck Norway and GSK Norway to put a spotlight on innovative cancer treatments in Norway.

Due to corona restrictions, we transformed this event (originally planned for Arendalsuka) into a digital bootcamp with short training intervals between each panel. This was livestreamed from Pusterommet at Akershus University Hospital on Wednesday 12 August 2020 at 5:00 pm.

The meeting consisted of three parts with different perspectives: diagnostics, treatments and exercise plans.

View the entire meeting via Facebook here or watch it via our YouTube channel below:

 

Warming-up to genetic testing

The warm-up session involved a discussion on how improved diagnostics can help doctors determine the best treatment for each individual patient.

Dr. Andreas Stensvold, Head of the Cancer Department at Sykehuset Østfold, talked about how he has used off-label treatments to help some of his patients.

One example is Kjetil Nerland who had already received the traditional treatment methods: surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but found they did not work for him over longer periods of time.

After going through genetic testing and detailed analysis of the tumour cells, Stensvold could offer Nerland an off-label treatment. The medicines had already been approved for a different cancer type.

“It’s not fun to have cancer, but it is fun to live longer and to not have to go through chemotherapy again,” Nerland said.

Jan Frich, vice administrative director for the South-Eastern Regional Health Authority, explained they are setting up the infrastructure for advanced molecular diagnostics.

“We need to build up the diagnostics – that is the basis for personalized medicine,” Frich said.

Professor Jan Helge Solbakk from The Centre for Medical Ethics at the University of Oslo was however critical of how little is being done to approve new cancer treatments and implement personalized medicine in Norway.

“Norwegian authorities are a little bit too scared of personalized medicine. When there is a big breakthrough or when we see great effect in one patient, they worry about the cost,” Solbakk said.

 

High-intensive discussions on clinical studies

The next panel discussed: How can Norway keep up with other countries on implementing precision medicine?

Professor Kjetil Taskén, Director of the Institute for Cancer Research at Oslo University Hospital, highlighted three things: building infrastructure for molecular cancer diagnostics, attracting more clinical studies that utilise molecular diagnostics and implementing this in regular clinical practice.

The initiative IMPRESS Norway works towards a public-private collaboration, with public financing to do a large clinical study in collaboration with several private companies. They will follow a set of guidelines to find out which cancer treatment is best for which patient.

“I think the dialogue between governmental institutions and private companies has been good so far. We are aiming to get a shift towards more public-private collaborations,” Taskén said.

The clinical study IMPRESS Norway is modelled on studies done in the USA and Netherlands. Results from the ongoing Dutch study show that if enough patients and companies are involved, it is possible to find one extra treatment option for 50% of the patients by using molecular diagnostics.

The pharmaceutical industry agrees that this is an important step towards precision medicine.

“It should be a political goal that clinical studies become part of ordinary cancer patient treatment, so that all patients who have been through treatment are offered a place in a clinical study,” Steinar Thoresen, Head of Oncology and Strategy, Merck Nordics and Netherlands, said.

Frøydis Høyem, State Secretary at the Ministry for Health and Care Services, was positive about more public-private collaboration on cancer care.

“The Norwegian government genuinely cares about cancer patients and wants to land a public-private collaboration. We need to come together, discuss this more and agree on how to take it further,” Høyem said.

 

Relaxing perspectives on exercise

How do we prepare the patient to be in the best possible shape to handle a cancer treatment? This was the key question in the last panel of the meeting.

A new initiative at Akershus University Hospital has put educating patients about coping with cancer, along with exercise and diet plans, at the forefront for all their treatments.

The results?

“We have higher patient satisfaction. They experience a higher degree of involvement, shorter waiting times and less complications,” Dr. Geir Arne Larsen, Head of Department for General and Digestive Surgery at Akershus University Hospital, said.

“It is neither high tech medicine nor resource demanding. In total, we use less resources on these patients, so the hospital’s capacity for intensive care, surgery and hospital beds can be used for other patients,” Larsen continued.

Hanne Garde is one of the patients who has been involved. She is happy she could take part in an individualised plan for diet, exercise and managing the disease, which made all the difference for her during treatment and recovery.

“It was perfect for me personally to be able to take an active role in my own treatment,” Garde said.

Yngvar Andersen, Ambassador for Aktiv mot kreft and training enthusiast, led all the exercise intervals and finished the meeting with some exercises for all the participants.

“I have seen how meaningful exercise is for many cancer patients. Life might not become longer, but it becomes a little bit better,” Andersen said.

 

Meeting participants:

  • Siri Lill Mannes, host
  • Frøydis Høyem, State Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care Services
  • Jan Frich, vice administrative director at the Norwegian South-Eastern Regional Health Authority
  • Andreas Stensvold, oncologist and Head of the Cancer Department at Sykehuset Østfold
  • Jan Helge Solbakk, professor at the Centre for Medical Ethics at the University of Oslo
  • Kjetil Taskén, Director of the Insitute for Cancer Research at Oslo University Hospital
  • Steinar Thoresen, Head of Oncology and Strategy, Merck Nordics and Netherlands
  • Geir Arne Larsen, Head of Department for General and Digestive Surgery at Akershus University Hospital
  • Yngvar Andersen, Ambassador for Aktiv mot kreft and training enthusiast

 

Thank you to all participants and organising partners for making this meeting possible!

 

 

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Eivind Lysheim was inspired to study medical technology after a placement at Oslo University Hospital, arranged by Oslo Cancer Cluster in collaboration with Ullern Upper Secondary School.

Studying medtech with cancer patients at heart

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Eivind Lysheim

Former Ullern student Eivind Lysheim has been inspired to make a difference for cancer patients

Eivind Lysheim had decided to study economics at university, until a work placement at the Norwegian Radium Hospital caught his interest in 2016, during his last year at Ullern Upper Secondary School.

The placement was arranged by Oslo Cancer Cluster and took place in the Department of Medical Physics. For an entire week Eivind was mentored by Professor Taran Paulsen Hellebust and her co-workers on medical imaging and how radiotherapy is used to treat cancer patients. The Ullern student learnt how to use the machines and how to create a theoretical treatment plan for a former patient.

“I have always been interested in the natural sciences. I felt that the combination of technology and medicine was extremely interesting. It is fascinating how you can use something that is perceived as deadly – such as gamma radiation, x-rays or high energy particles – and cure someone. When I saw the high-tech machines at the hospital, I got a little bit carried away,” Eivind said with a smile.

Eivind immediately changed his application from economics to the mathematics and physics programme with specialisation in biophysics and medical technology at NTNU in Trondheim.

Four years later, Eivind has one year left of his master’s degree and is still intent on working on technology that can improve the lives of cancer patients.

“Cancer can happen to anyone and almost everyone in Norway knows someone who has been affected by it. It is important that we develop the very best treatments for the people who get ill,” Eivind said.

Eivind got in touch with Bente Prestegård, project manager at Oslo Cancer Cluster, who helped him find a summer internship with our member Kongsberg Beam Technology. The company recently acquired funding to develop control systems for proton therapy machines.

“Among medtech students in Norway, proton therapy is probably the most popular area to work in. Everyone dreams about getting a job in this field. This internship has really been like hitting the jackpot for me,” Eivind said.

Kongsberg Beam Technology is developing a system called MAMA-K, which is short for Multi‑Array Multi-Axis Cancer Combat Machine. The machine treats the tumour with a number of simultaneous proton beams and is especially adapted for more mobile tumours, and it can be added to both existing and new proton machines.

Eivind has spent the summer doing research in the offices belonging to Semcon, who is one of Kongsberg Beam Technology’s partners.

Norway is in the process of building its first two proton centres, at Oslo University Hospital and at Haukeland University Hospital. Many medtech students are eager to work at these centres to develop cancer treatments. Moreover, the technology used in proton machines is an intriguing area of research constantly in development, which makes it highly attractive for new students.

“If I can work with proton therapy, I can look forward to a very exciting and varied career, because the field is always changing and you have to continually learn new things,” Eivind said.

Ketil Widerberg, general manager of Oslo Cancer Cluster, leading a debate on health data during EHiN 2019. Photo: Ard Jongsma / Still Words Photography

The IT-revolution in oncology

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This article was first published in Teknisk Ukeblad in Norwegian on 23 June 2020. Scroll down for a version in Norwegian.

EHiN, E-Health in Norway, is Norway’s largest conference on the digitalization of the health sector. Save the date 10-11 November 2020!

“At EHiN you will meet the key players of the health sector, politicians and decision-makers,” said Ketil Widerberg, general manager of Oslo Cancer Cluster.

EHiN has proven to be an important arena to gather the industry, the public sector and the research environment around the digitalization of the health sector.

“During two days, we will learn from one another and share knowledge about technological solutions to benefit the health service and individual patients. This creates a basis for further collaboration,” Widerberg said.

Oslo Cancer Cluster is a non-profit member organization that connects public and private key players in cancer research and a Norwegian Centre of Expertise since 2009. Oslo Cancer Cluster is a collaboration partner in EHiN.

Artificial intelligence changes cancer treatments

Digitalisation is a central area in cancer research and the advent of precision medicine demands that different academic disciplines work closely together. Using artificial intelligence will be important to develop new treatments.

“Artificial intelligence will change how we treat cancer. It is about understanding cancer. The same way that a microscope can show us what cells look like, AI can help us to discover patterns we never would have seen otherwise.

“This makes it possible to give patients personalized treatments because we can identify how the patient will react to the treatment. Eventually, modern machine learning systems will make the treatments even better.

“The goal is to give the right treatment to the right patient at the right time,” Widerberg explained.

The IT-revolution in the oncology field is also of great interest to the tech industry. It is about handling enormous amounts of health data through storage, analysis, machine learning, pattern detection and secure connections between different data sources.

“Personalized medicine, genetics and the use of health data is quickly developing into one of the most important areas in digital health.”
Ketil Widerberg, general manager of Oslo Cancer Cluster.

“EHiN wishes in collaboration with Oslo Cancer Cluster to build Norway as an important international hub in the area of e-health,” Widerberg said.

The programme for EHiN 2020 is currently under development. Information about the venue and ticket sales will be announced at a later date. Please visit the official EHiN website for updates on how corona affects EHiN 2020.

 

IT-REVOLUSJON PÅ ONKOLOGIFELTET

EHiN, EHelse i Norge, er Norges største konferanse om digitalisering i helsesektoren. – Merk deg datoene 10. og 11. november allerede nå.

På EHiN møter du de fremste aktørene i helsesektoren, politikere og beslutningstakere, sier Ketil Widerberg, daglig leder i Oslo Cancer Cluster.
EHiN har vist seg å være en viktig arena for å samle næringsliv, offentlig sektor og forskning rundt digitalisering av helsesektoren.

– I to dager i  skal vi lære av hverandre og dele kunnskap om teknologiløsninger til det beste for helsevesen og enkeltpasienter. Det skaper grobunn for videre samarbeid, poengterer Widerberg.

Han forteller at Oslo Cancer Cluster (OCC) er en non-profit medlemsorganisasjon som samler offentlige og private aktører innen kreftforskning, og et Norwegian Centre of Expertise. OCC er samarbeidspartner i EHiN.

Presisjonsmedisin

Presisjonsmedisin krever ifølge Widerberg at forskjellige fag-grener jobber tett sammen, og digitalisering er et sentralt område innenfor kreft. Han trekker frem betydningen av kunstig intelligens (AI).

– AI vil endre kreftbehandlingen. Det handler om å forstå kreften. På samme måte som mikroskopet tar oss helt ned på cellenivå, vil AI hjelpe oss til å se et mønster vi aldri ellers ville oppdaget. Dette gjør det mulig å gi pasienter individbasert behandling – nettopp fordi vi kan se et mønster på hvordan pasienten reagerer på behandlingen. Etter hvert vil moderne selvlærende datasystemer gjøre behandlingsmetodene bedre.
Målet er å gi den rette behandlingen til den rette pasienten til rett tid, forklarer Widerberg.

IT-revolusjonen på onkologifeltet har også stor interesse for IT-bransjen. Det handler blant annet om å håndtere enorme mengder helsedata gjennom lagring, analyse, maskinlæring, mønstergjenkjenning og sikker kobling av forskjellige datakilder.

– Persontilpasset medisin, genetikk og bruk av helsedata utvikler seg snart til et av de viktigste områdene innen digital helse, sier Ketil Widerberg, daglig leder i Oslo Cancer Cluster.

– EHiN ønsker i samarbeid med OCC å bygge Norge som en viktig internasjonal hub på området e-helse, avslutter Widerberg.

Følg med på ehin.no hvordan koronaviruset påvirker EHiN 2020.