Online Oncology Consultations for Patients in Norway, Sweden & Denmark
ONCOLOGY HUB
DR. SARA FANIJAVADI
Our Research Focus
SF Medic Oncology Hub is an independent oncology and research initiative led by Dr. Sara Fanijavadi. Our research explores the biological interactions that influence cancer development, progression and treatment response, with particular interests in tumor immunology and natural killer (NK) cells, the cancer microbiome, metabolic pathways, and translational biomarkers for personalized oncology.
A central theme of our work is understanding how immune, microbial and metabolic factors interact within the tumor environment, rather than considering these biological systems in isolation. We are particularly interested in how these interconnected processes may influence tumor behaviour, immune function and treatment response, and how they might ultimately contribute to clinically meaningful biomarkers and more individualized approaches to cancer care.
Our work is organized around three interconnected research areas:
Understanding the mechanisms that regulate NK-cell function and antitumor immunity, including immune suppression, oxidative and metabolic stress, and the tumor microenvironment.
Investigating dysbiosis and microbiota–immune interactions, with particular interest in the relationship between microbial communities, NK-cell biology and cancer.
Exploring integrated biomarker strategies that bring together immune, microbial, metabolic, nutrient-sensing and molecular characteristics to investigate their potential relevance to cancer characterization, prognosis, treatment response and personalized care.
Ongoing Projects
Current research initiatives
and focus areas.
Collaborations
National and international
research partnerships.
Presentations
Posters, talks and
conference contributions.
Research Blog
Insights and updates
on oncology researches.
Tumor Immunology & NK Cells
The immune system plays a central role in cancer surveillance and response, with natural killer (NK) cells providing an important first line of defence through their ability to recognize and eliminate abnormal cells without prior sensitization.
Our research focuses particularly on NK-cell biology and dysfunction within the tumor microenvironment, exploring how immune suppression, metabolic and oxidative stress, and tumor-associated factors may impair effective antitumor activity. We are especially interested in understanding how these mechanisms interact rather than studying individual pathways in isolation.
This includes investigating strategies that may help identify or overcome mechanisms of NK-cell suppression and exploring their potential relevance to cancer progression, treatment response and therapeutic resistance. By better understanding the biological factors that shape NK-cell function, our work aims to contribute to the development of more effective immune-based and personalized approaches to cancer care.
Related Publications
Cancer Microbiome
The human microbiome is increasingly being investigated as one of the biological systems capable of interacting with immunity, metabolism and the tumor microenvironment.
Our research focuses particularly on dysbiosis and microbiota–immune interactions, including the relationship between microbial communities and NK-cell biology. Rather than considering the microbiome in isolation, we are interested in how microbial changes may interact with immune phenotypes and other biological processes involved in cancer.
This includes exploring whether combined microbiome and immune signatures could eventually provide clinically useful information for cancer characterization, prognosis or treatment stratification. Such approaches remain an active area of research and require prospective validation before clinical application.
Related Publications
Translational Biomarkers & Personalized Oncology
Cancer is biologically heterogeneous, and patients with apparently similar diagnoses may experience different disease courses and responses to treatment. Translational biomarker research seeks to understand these biological differences and identify measurable features that may ultimately support more personalized approaches to cancer care.
Our research focuses particularly on integrated biomarker strategies, exploring how information from different biological systems—including immune-cell phenotypes, microbiome profiles, metabolic and nutrient-sensing pathways, oxidative stress, and molecular characteristics—may provide greater clinical insight when considered together rather than as isolated markers.
This includes investigating whether multidimensional biological signatures could contribute to cancer characterization, prognosis, patient stratification, treatment selection or monitoring. By connecting findings from tumor immunology, microbiome research and cancer metabolism with clinically relevant questions, our work aims to bridge emerging biological discoveries and personalized oncology while recognizing the need for prospective validation before new biomarkers can be incorporated into routine clinical practice.
Related Publications
Ongoing Projects
SF-Medic is developing a multilingual digital tool for patient-reported monitoring of treatment-related symptoms during chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, endocrine therapy, targeted therapy and combination therapy.
The current version is a pilot prototype designed to evaluate usability, accessibility, symptom-reporting workflows and multilingual functionality.
SF-Medic Personalized Cancer Prevention & Survivorship Platform — Pilot Project
SF-Medic is developing two interconnected multilingual digital health applications as part of this pilot project. SF-Medic OncoPrevent is being developed for people without a cancer diagnosis and will explore the integration of lifestyle and environmental risk factors, family history, medical information and relevant genetic factors to support individualized cancer-risk assessment, evidence-based risk reduction and appropriate cancer screening. SF-Medic OncoLife is being developed for people living with or after a cancer diagnosis and will explore the integration of lifestyle factors with clinical, tumor and genomic information to support personalized survivorship and the assessment of factors associated with cancer recurrence, progression and treatment resistance.
The current pilot project will evaluate usability, accessibility, multilingual functionality and the feasibility of integrating lifestyle, clinical and genomic information with validated risk models and evidence-based guidance. The platform will distinguish established clinical evidence from emerging research and is intended to support, rather than replace, professional medical assessment, cancer screening, genetic counseling or oncology care.
SF-Medic OncoPreventCancer Prevention & Personalized Screening [Enter SF-Medic OncoPrevent]SF-Medic
OncoLifeCancer Survivorship & Progression Risk Reduction [Enter SF-Medic OncoLife]
SF-Medic Clinical Trial Navigator — Development Project
SF-Medic is developing a physician-facing digital clinical trial navigation tool designed to support the identification and structured review of current oncology clinical trials based on individual tumor characteristics, molecular findings, treatment history, and other relevant clinical parameters.
The project is designed for professional use and aims to integrate information from authoritative clinical trial registries with a structured preliminary assessment of trial eligibility criteria.
Potential trial matches and eligibility criteria remain subject to physician review and final confirmation by the recruiting clinical trial center.
The current version is under development and is intended exclusively for professional use. It is not intended for direct patient access or autonomous treatment recommendations.