About me

My research focuses on breast cancer in a very broad sense. We build our projects on the strong epidemiologic tradition and infrastructure of the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and collaborate with several strong research groups and clinical networks. 

Research description

Main research interests

  • To determine genetic variants associated with prognosis of breast cancer (inherited alterations)
  • To identify novel breast-tumor specific markers for disease progression (somatic alterations)
  • To study the long-term breast cancer prognosis as well as the panorama of diseases in breast cancer survivors.
  • Mammographic screening and interval breast cancer
  • Better understanding of mammographic density and implementation for clinical use

Current supervision of PhD students

  • Erwei Zeng
  • Xinhe Mao
  • Ziyan Ma

Current post docs

  • Juan I. Rodriguez
  • Qingyang Xiao
  • Yuqi Zhang
  • Damien Kaukonen

Current affiliated researchers

  • Haomin Yang
  • Wei He
  • Felix Grassmann

Leadership

  • Acting chair at MEB, KI (September 2017-December 2018)
  • Deputy chair at MEB, KI (2010-2017)
  • Director of Postgraduate studies at MEB, KI (2007-2010)

Current research grants (as PI) 

My research work is mainly supported by:  Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), FORTE, Cancerföreningen, Swedish Cancer Society (Cancerfonden), Stockholm County Council (SLL/ALF), Astra Zeneca.

Selected projects

Identification of women at increased risk of fatal breast cancer: A study on what women have an increased risk of fatal breast cancer.

Selected articles

Grassmann F, Yang H, Eriksson M, Azam S, Hall P, Czene K. Mammographic features are associated with cardiometabolic disease risk and mortality. European Heart Journal. 2021. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehab502.

He W, Eriksson M, Eliasson E, Grassmann F, Backlund M, Gabrielson M, Hammarstrom M, Margolin S, Thoren L, Wengstrom Y, Borgquist S, Hall P, Czene K. CYP2D6 genotype predicts tamoxifen discontinuation and drug response: a secondary analysis of the KARISMA trial. Annals of Oncology. 2021. doi: 10.1016/j.annonc.2021.07.005.

He W, Felix Grassmann F, Eriksson M, Eliasson E, Margolin, Thorén SL, Hall P, Czene K. CYP2D6 genotype predicts tamoxifen discontinuation and prognosis in breast cancer patients. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2020 Feb 20;38(6):548-557.

Grassmann F, He W, Eriksson M, Gabrielson M, Hall P and Czene K. Other cancers are associated with breast cancer mode of detection: novel insights into interval cancer genetics. Nature Communications, 2019 Oct 22;10(1):4648.

He W, Smedby KE, Fang F, Olsson H, Margolin S, Hall P, Czene K. Treatment Restarting After Discontinuation of Adjuvant Hormone Therapy in Breast Cancer Patients. Journal of National Cancer Institute. 2017;109(10).

Holm J, Li J, Darabi H, Eklund M, Eriksson M, Humphreys K, Hall P and Czene K. Associations of Breast Cancer Risk Prediction Tools With Tumor Characteristics and Metastasis. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2016;34(3):251-8.

He W, Fang F, Varnum C, Eriksson M, Hall P and Czene K. Predictors of Discontinuation of Adjuvant Hormone Therapy in Patients With Breast Cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2015;33:2262-9.

Holm J, Humphreys K, Li J, Ploner A, Cheddad A, Eriksson M, Tornberg S, Hall P and Czene K. Risk Factors and Tumor Characteristics of Interval Cancers by Mammographic Density. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2015;33(9):1030-7.

Lindstrom LS, Hall P, Hartman M, Wiklund F, Gronberg H and Czene K. Familial Concordance in Cancer Survival: A Swedish Population-Based Study. Lancet Oncology. 2007;8(11):1001-6.

Scientific Networks

From 2014, member of the steering group for BRECT (Breast Cancer Theme Center), KI.

From July 2008, Deputy Director of CRisP Center financed by Swedish Research Council (PI: Henrik Grönberg) that aims on ‘Individualized prediction and prevention of breast and prostate cancer.

From 2007, member of the international Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC). More than 60 groups worldwide contribute information on genetic and non-genetic factors. So far BCAC has identified more than 180 susceptibility SNPs.

From 2010, member of NorTwinCan (Nordic Twin Study of Cancer), the largest twin study on cancer in the world. The NorTwinCan team seeks to more accurately quantify the heritable and familial risk of various cancers through the creation of a unique database that pools information from twin and cancer registers in four Nordic countries (Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway).

Teaching portfolio

Supervisor of 12 ‘Examensarbete’ students in various programs: Biomedicine, Medical program, Public Health.

Education

Med Dr. (Ph.D.) in Medical science, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

MSc in Nuclear Engineering - Faculty of Nuclear Science and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University, Prague, Czech Republic