Uppsala receives European quality stamp for cancer care and research
Uppsala University Hospital and Uppsala University meet the European quality standards the classified as Comprehensive Cancer Centre. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.
It is now clear that the cancer care and research in Uppsala have been accredited as a Comprehensive Cancer Centre.
This means that Uppsala University Hospital and Uppsala University meet European quality standards in terms of reception, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, nursing and rehabilitation, as well as research, teaching and education.
“It’s incredibly gratifying that we in Uppsala now fulfil the standards required for accreditation. This means that patients can count on several actors taking joint responsibility for their cancer care,” says Ingrid Glimelius, Senior Consultant in Oncology, Professor at Uppsala University and Director of Uppsala Comprehensive Cancer Centre (UCCC).
“It’s incredibly gratifying that we in Uppsala now fulfil the standards required for accreditation,” says Ingrid Glimelius, Director of Uppsala Comprehensive Cancer Centre (UCCC).
Comprehensive Cancer Centre aims to coordinate cancer care and research and is a collaboration between Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala University and the Regional Cancer Centre for Central Sweden. All activities at the hospital that involve cancer are part of the UCCC. A large number of cancer researchers are also involved.
The Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) is behind the accreditation. There are four previously accredited Comprehensive Cancer Centres in Sweden: Karolinska University Hospital, Skåne University Hospital, Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Linköping University Hospital.
“Being accredited means we commit to continuously working on improvements and being at the forefront of cancer care and research in Europe. Uppsala University Hospital already provides cutting-edge cancer care, and the accreditation will be a stamp on that. At the same time, we want to be able to continue developing both care and research in the field of cancer,” says Ingrid Glimelius.
During 2024, approximately 5,000 patients were diagnosed with cancer at Uppsala University Hospital. In the same year, 2,700 patients underwent surgery, and more than 1,500 received radiotherapy either at the Hospital or the Skandion Clinic in Uppsala, Sweden’s national centre for proton radiotherapy. Research at UCCC is both experimental and patient-oriented, ranging from studying how cancer arises and spreads to improving treatment and quality of life for cancer patients.