Managing the increase in cancer cases in Oulu, Finland

Hanne Kuitunen, Chief Medical Officer at Oulu University Hospital, says, “Today, we’re seeing a rapid development of new treatment techniques. But we also have significant challenges for the future: Do we have enough financial resources to implement effective treatments? And will we have enough human resources – cancer care professionals – to treat these patients?” 

Oulu University Hospital serves patients throughout northern Finland, which has approximately 741,000 inhabitants and accounts for more than half of the country’s territory. Founded in 1973, the hospital is affiliated with the University of Oulu and serves as a teaching hospital for the Faculty of Medicine.

In 2022, Siemens Healthineers joined forces with Oulu University Hospital in Finland to form a ten-year impactful Value Partnership | Oncology, which includes the delivery and installation of medical imaging and therapy equipment as a service, covering several digital solutions to support workflow efficiency, as well as advanced training.

Furthermore, the partnership supports the implementation of new technologies, the development of the quality of diagnostics and care, and the improvement of workflow efficiency. It also offers resources for scientific research projects. Through the combination of Siemens Healthineers and Varian, the partners want to enhance the hospital’s diagnostic and therapeutic performance and thereby increase the quality of care for patients throughout the region. 

The partnership was initiated as part of the broader renewal plan for Oulu University Hospital’s facilities. It is considered a key factor toward their goal of being one of the most innovative and modern hospitals in the world by 2030. “Our Value Partnership is one of the cornerstones for realizing this vision,” says Jaakko Niinimäki, Service Center Manager at Oulu University Hospital.

Soile Komssi, Head of Enterprise Services Nordics and Baltics at Siemens Healthineers, is confident: “Thanks to this partnership, our customers will be able to free up their resources, from technology management to actual patient care.” 

For example, innovative applications based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) are already helping save human resources by providing time-saving support for routine activities. 

Finnish oncologists are trained in both oncology and radiotherapy, enabling them to refer patients more accurately to the right treatment. Today, the hospital is on the cutting-edge of cancer treatment. Kuitunen: “We’re focused on the most difficult cancer treatment, including the treatment of demanding lymphomas and hematological diseases, radiotherapy, cell therapy treatments, and demanding sarcoma and testicular cancer treatments. In addition, we offer treatments that aren’t yet available elsewhere in Finland, including CAR T-cell treatments .”

The team of cancer experts is actively involved in national and international research networks, and that kind of collaboration between cancer researchers and doctors lays the foundation for increasingly personalized care. “To guarantee successful and more patient-oriented therapy, it’s important that our treatment chains are functional. That allows us to do the right things at the right time for the right patients,” Kuitunen points out. 

Multimodality imaging plays a central role in cancer care. Kaisa Lehtiö, MD, Specialist in Radiation Oncology, explains the benefits: “Using computed tomography (CT) in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is our clinical routine. We can make our treatment plans more precisely than in the past. CT shows certain things like bones very well, but the better soft tissue contrast of MRI enables a much more accurate determination of certain organs like the prostate.”

MRI also plays an important role in the treatment path, even before radiation therapy is planned. “Its role is central, for example, in the treatment of breast cancer when neoadjuvant treatment  is given,” says Lehtiö.

And 4D MRI significantly improves the quality of care in treatments like lung stereotactic radiotherapy.

At Oulu University Hospital, the convergence of a strategic partnership, AI technology, advanced imaging, and personalized treatment planning has led to a significant leap forward in cancer care. The integration of multimodality imaging allows for thorough tumor characterization, which enables customized treatment strategies that can optimize patient outcomes. 

Personalized radiotherapy treatment planning helps ensure patients receive the most effective and targeted therapies while minimizing side effects and helping improve their quality of life. Together these advances mark a transformative shift toward more efficient, effective, and patient-centered cancer care.