The Elias Tillandz prize for the best scientific publication of 2024 was presented for two groundbreaking cancer studies. The prizes were awarded to the researchers on Thursday, 28 August 2025, at the BioCity Symposium.
The Elias Tillandz prize 2024 was awarded to an outstanding research article which offers a possible explanation as to why higher breast density and older age increase the risk of breast cancer. The Prize was awarded to the researchers at the BioCity symposium on Thursday, 29 August 2024.
Treatment outcomes for breast cancer have become better over the years, but proportion of breast cancers still recur even after long periods without signs of cancer remaining dormant in the body. Finnish cancer researchers discovered a mechanism that wakes up these dormant breast cancer cells and demonstrated that preventing the mechanism can significantly improve treatment outcomes in experimental models.
Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), also known as the squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, is the most common form of metastatic skin cancer. The incidence of cSCC is increasing worldwide with millions of new cases diagnosed each year. The prognosis of metastatic cSCC is poor as there are currently no effective targeted treatments available. New study conducted at the University of Turku, Finland, shows that plixorafenib, a new drug developed for treating melanoma and lung cancer, can also stop the progression of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.
A research group from the University of Turku and Turku Bioscience Centre together with Misvik Biology Ltd in Finland have developed a new method for studying how cancer cells function in softer and stiffer tissue environments. This insight challenges the existing paradigm, opening up new possibilities for research in cancer biology and tissue engineering.
Researchers have found a possible explanation as to why higher breast density and older age increase the risk of breast cancer.
An international team of researchers has discovered how the so-called tertiary lymphoid-like structures can help the human immune defence to find cancer cells and destroy them. Researchers from the InFLAMES research flagship of the University of Turku, Finland, participated in the study and the research article was published in the esteemed Cancer Cell journal.
Researchers at Turku University and Åbo Akademi University, Finland, have identified that finger-like cellular extensions called filopodia contribute to building a barrier surrounding breast tumours.