News

Tampere University Hospital is the first hospital in Finland to introduce a new radiotherapy method for rectal cancer, in which the radiation dose is targeted directly at the tumor. HDR brachytherapy treatments began in August 2026. So far the method has been used to treat patients for whom no other good options were available.

During Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, Burak Yavuz sat down with Toni Seppälä for an 8-minute discussion hosted by the European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP), focused on one of the most pressing challenges in colorectal cancer today: the rising incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC).

Seppälä Lab has received EUR 13.6 million in funding to advance early detection of Lynch syndrome-associated cancers. Lynch syndrome is one of the most common hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes, significantly increasing lifetime risk of colorectal, endometrial, and other cancers.

Cancer Foundation Finland (Syöpäsäätiö) has awarded Toni Seppälä a EUR 150,000 grant to support a two-year patient study aimed at optimizing colorectal cancer treatment using modern methods.

The study will use tumor DNA analysis from blood samples to identify effective and safe treatment combinations for individual patients, with a focus on colorectal cancer subtypes that respond to immunotherapy.

The NORPPA-1 study (Nordic ORgan Preservation Pilot Approach) is a nonrandomized single-arm clinical trial evaluating non-operative management for rectal cancer, led by Toni Seppälä at Tampere University Hospital (Tays). All 13 surgical units treating rectal cancer in Finland and Estonia are participating.