Light Meets Precision:
EIC Pathfinder Project SCALPEL Pioneering a Revolutionary Photoimmunotherapy for Cancer
Theo Theodossiou, Project coordinator
In a groundbreaking effort to revolutionise modern oncology, the SCALPEL project launches a Europe wide initiative aimed at redefining cancer treatment by using light to precisely ‘click’ tags to cancer cells, enabling the immune system to recognise and destroy them with unparalleled accuracy. Project coordinator is Theo Theodossiou, head of the Protonics project group at the Department of Radiation Biology at OUH.
The multidisciplinary initiative funded by the European Innovation Council Pathfinder programme under Horizon Europe with a total budget of more than EUR 4 million aims to revolutionise modern oncology offering new hope for millions worldwide.
From major journals, first or last author from the Institute for Cancer Research
Ghiasvand R(2026) High-Risk Stage II Melanoma: AJCC Staging anomaly or understaging dilemma? Br J Dermatol(in press) DOI 10.1093/bjd/ljaf523, PubMed 41483011
Unal B, Saatcioglu F(2025) Targeting the unfolded protein response for cancer therapy: mitigating tumor adaptation and immune suppression Biomark Res, 13(1), 156 DOI 10.1186/s40364-025-00813-y, PubMed 41372991
Pinto R, Sjurgard IV, Pharo H, Mala T, Vedeld HM, Lind GE(2025) Molecular stratification of esophageal adenocarcinoma: implications for prognosis and treatment strategy Oncogene(in press) DOI 10.1038/s41388-025-03650-3, PubMed 41361079
Van der Pol H, Kringelbach T, Martin Agudo M, Bratseth Stav G, Fagereng GL, Fiocco M, Sørum Falk R, Homer V, Haj Mohammad S, Timmer H, Verlingue L, Helland Å, Rohrberg K, Lassen U, Halford S, Jalkanen K, Juslin T, Krebs MG, Oliveira J, Baltruskeviciene E, Ojamaa K, Taskén K, Gelderblom H(2026) Procedures of data merging in precision cancer medicine: the PRIME-ROSE project Acta Oncol, 65, 1-8 DOI 10.2340/1651-226X.2026.44889, PubMed 41496458
Wang X, Nguyen J, Nader K, Miihkinen M, Wall P, Singhal A, Bedard PL, Ideker T, Aittokallio T, Haibe-Kains B(2026) Discovery of predictive biomarkers for cancer therapy through computational approaches Nat Rev Clin Oncol(in press) DOI 10.1038/s41571-025-01109-8, PubMed 41495240
Kanetsky PA, Almstrup K, Cherlin S, Cortessis VK, Ferlin A, Gietema JA, González-Neira A, Grotmol T, Hamilton RJ, Haugen TB, Kiemeney LA, Kim J, Krausz C, Lessel D, Lothe RA, Nead KT, Nsengimana J, Poynter JN, Rajpert-DeMeyts E, Richiardi L, Schwartz SM, Skotheim RI, Stewart DR, Turnbull C, Wiklund Fet al.(2026) The Testicular Cancer Consortium (TECAC): Filling Knowledge Gaps in the Genetic Etiology of Testicular Germ Cell Tumors Andrology, e70168(in press) DOI 10.1111/andr.70168, PubMed 41486674