Oncology

SOLID TUMOR & HEMATOLOGIC RESEARCH PROGRAM

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death globally, with over 20 million new cases and nearly 10 million deaths annually. The increasing complexity of oncology care, driven by advances in precision medicine, evolving treatment guidelines, and rising incidence, demands robust real-world evidence to support clinical development, regulatory submissions, and reimbursement decisions across international markets.

This research program investigates treatment patterns, outcomes, and biomarker-informed care across hematologic and solid tumors using linked national health data from Denmark and Norway, following >1,000,000 cancer patients for up to 16 years. The datasets include verified diagnoses from cancer registers, inpatient and outpatient care, in- and outpatient medication, pathology records, laboratory biomarkers, blood cell counts, and socioeconomic variables – capturing clinical practice with high granularity and enabling scalable retrospective research.

The Danish dataset covers all hematologic and solid tumors, while the Norwegian dataset currently includes breast and lung cancer.

OBJECTIVES

The overarching objectives of the research program are:

  1. What are the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with cancer?
  2. How are patients treated and what are the treatment outcomes?
  3. Which are the risk, predictive and causal factors of outcomes and treatments, and how does findings in clinical practice compare to findings from clinical trials?
  4. What are the resource use and cost differences between patient groups?
  5. What are the socioeconomic, geographical and cancer type differences in care and access to novel treatments?

ACADEMIC CONTRIBUTIONS AND NETWORK

The research program is led by Oskar Ström and Johan Liseth Hansen, both with extensive experience and engagement in epidemiological research and academic collaborations.

Research projects are developed and executed by researchers with expertise in epidemiology, study design, statistics, and data management, often in collaboration with clinical experts who contribute disease-specific insights and contextual interpretation. Several research projects are ongoing, and some have already reached the public domain:

  • Glioma:
    Evaluating work activity and societal burden in patients with grade 2 IDH-mutant glioma
    Lukacova S, Muhic A, Ström O, Johnsen M, Aubin C, Massetti M, Skjøth-Rasmussen J.
    Neuro-Oncology Practice, 2025. DOI: 10.1093/nop/npaf092
  • Breast Cancer:
    1. Survival of de novo metastatic breast cancer according to biomarker status in Denmark and Norway: A register-based cohort study
      Liseth Hansen J, Johnsen M, Fischer F, Ström O, Kopp T.
      ESMO Congress 2024, Abstract 397P. PDF
    2. Utilizing registry data to explore treatment patterns in HR+ HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer: Insights from Denmark and Norway
      Reithmeier A, Porojnicu AC, Johnsen M, Ågesen T, Liseth Hansen J.
      AACR Annual Meeting 2025, Abstract P3-12-10. Abstract
  • Lung Cancer:
    Survival of de novo metastatic non-small cell lung cancer according to biomarker status in Denmark and Norway: A register-based cohort study
    Liseth Hansen J, Kopp T, Fischer F, Johnsen M, Ström O.
    ESMO Congress 2024, Abstract 1370P. Abstract

CONTACT INFORMATION ONCOLOGY

Oskar Ström, Founder 
PhD, Affiliated researcher, Dept. of Medicine, KI
oskar.strom@quantifyresearch.com

Johan Liseth Hansen, Senior Project Leader
PhD candidate, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo
johan.liseth-hansen@quantifyresearch.com