Heikki Joensuu

1.1.2010 31.12.2014
University of Helsinki
clinical medicine

The research interests of Professor Heikki Joensuu of the University of Helsinki lie in the field of clinical cancer research and particularly in adjuvant cancer therapies. His work contributes to the development of safe and effective adjuvant treatments for breast cancer and gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) patients, to understanding the mechanisms of these cancer diseases and to identifying patients who are at greater risk of recurrence.

Malfunction of tyrosine kinase proteins plays a major role in the onset and progress of certain cancers. The monoclonal antibody trastuzumab has proved to be highly effective against HER2-positive breast cancer. Another example of a new cancer therapy based on the inhibition of tyrosine kinase receptors is imatinib. Imatinib has significantly improved treatment outcomes in two relatively rare cancers, chronic myeloid leukaemia and GIST.

Professor Joensuu and his team have developed a new adjuvant therapy for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer. This FinHer regimen might even become the new standard treatment for HER2 positive breast cancer in the world. Another area of research focus is GIST, the most common sarcoma of the gastrointestinal tract. Professor Joensuu has plans to study the use of imatibin as an adjuvant therapy for GIST in a randomized trial among high recurrence risk GIST patients in the Nordic countries and Germany. These studies are clinically extremely important: breast cancer in particular represents a significant public health problem.