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
Hektoen HH, Tsuruda KM, Brustugun OT, Neumann K, Andreassen BK(2025) Real-world comparison of pembrolizumab alone and combined with chemotherapy in metastatic lung adenocarcinoma patients with PD-L1 expression ≥50 ESMO Open, 10(5), 105073(in press) DOI 10.1016/j.esmoop.2025.105073, PubMed 40305908
Dillard C, Teles-Reis J, Jain A, Antunes MG, Ruiz-Duran P, Qi Y, Le Borgne R, Jasper H, Rusten TE(2025) NF-κB signaling driven by oncogenic Ras contributes to tumorigenesis in a Drosophila carcinoma model PLoS Biol, 23(4), e3002663 DOI 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002663, PubMed 40294135
Moosavi SH, Kryeziu K, Eilertsen IA, Nunes L, Hektoen M, Niederdorfer B, Reims HM, Syversveen T, Grut H, Dueland S, Line PD, Lothe RA, Sveen A(2025) Molecular prognostic factors for liver transplantation of unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer Br J Surg, 112(4) DOI 10.1093/bjs/znaf072, PubMed 40235343
Tsuruda KM, Hektoen HH, Aamelfot C, Andreassen BK(2025) Let's talk about sex: Survival among females and males in a real-world cohort treated with pembrolizumab for non-small cell lung cancer Int J Cancer(in press) DOI 10.1002/ijc.35445, PubMed 40298324
Hektoen HH, Tsuruda KM, Brustugun OT, Neumann K, Andreassen BK(2025) Real-world comparison of pembrolizumab alone and combined with chemotherapy in metastatic lung adenocarcinoma patients with PD-L1 expression ≥50 ESMO Open, 10(5), 105073(in press) DOI 10.1016/j.esmoop.2025.105073, PubMed 40305908
Dillard C, Teles-Reis J, Jain A, Antunes MG, Ruiz-Duran P, Qi Y, Le Borgne R, Jasper H, Rusten TE(2025) NF-κB signaling driven by oncogenic Ras contributes to tumorigenesis in a Drosophila carcinoma model PLoS Biol, 23(4), e3002663 DOI 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002663, PubMed 40294135