FICAN Science Webinar: Single-cell spatial tumor ecosystems in ovarian cancer

Welcome to the next Finnish Cancer Center FICAN Science Webinar with Adjunct professor Anniina Färkkilä (University of Helsinki and HUS). 

This time the seminar is hosted by FICAN South. These nationwide webinars provide a platform to share new scientific findings, highlight recent advances in cancer research, and foster collaboration among cancer researchers and clinicians across Finland.

More information about the speaker:
Anniina Färkkilä, MD, PhD, is a gynecologist and a Tenure-Track Professor in Translational Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Helsinki, Finland. She serves as the Vice-Director of the Research Programs Unit and the Research Program for Systems Oncology. Dr. Färkkilä leads the prospective Oncosys-Ova trial (NCT06117384)and the Ovarian Cancer Project within the iCAN Digital Precision Medicine Flagship and is a sub-investigator in multiple clinical trials at the HUH Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her research focuses on identifying biomarkers and mechanisms that determine responses to novel combination and immunotherapies in gynecological cancers. The Färkkilä laboratory investigates tumor–host interactions using spatial omics, integrative bioinformatics, and functional model systems. Dr. Färkkilä’s work has been instrumental in revealing how and how chemotherapy remodels the tumor microenvironment (Launonen et al., Cancer Cell, 2024), and how tumor-intrinsic MHCII expression drives immunogenicity and clinical outcomes (Perez-Villatoro et al, Cancer Discovery 2026) in ovarian cancer. Her team also developed a genomic biomarker for homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), which was implemented clinically in 2022 for centralized testing of ovarian cancer patients in Finland—demonstrating her expertise in systems-level tumor biology and clinically translatable biomarker development.

More information: www.farkkilab.org

Relevant references for this talk:
• Single-Cell Spatial Atlas of High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer Uncovers MHC Class II as a Key Predictor of Spatial Tumor Ecosystems and Clinical Outcomes.
Perez-Villatoro F, Shabanova A, van Wagensveld L, Junquera A, Niemiec I, Hincapié-Otero MM, Kang Z, Falco MM, Birgin K, Wolf S, Anttila E, Anandagoda G, Casado J, Marcus E, Gaillard D, Kahelin E, Chamchougia F, Salko M, Shah S, Russo S, Chiaro J, Grönholm M, Ndika J, Kari OK; iCAN; Sonke GS, Van de Vijver KK, Fpm Kruitwagen R, van der Aa M, Virtanen A, Cerullo V, Vähärautio A, Sorger PK, Horlings HM, Färkkilä A.Cancer Discov. 2026 Jun 1;16(6):1100-1125. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-25-1492.PMID: 41661089
• Ex Vivo Immuno-Oncology Platform Reveals Spatial T-cell Infiltration Patterns Linked to ATR Inhibition Responses in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer.
Sakrepatna Nagaraj A, Salko M, Sirsikar A, Kang Z, Erkan EP, Pietilä EA, Niemiec I, Bao J, Marchi G, Szabó A, Hincapié-Otero M, Lundgren A, Nowlan K, Pikkusaari S, Kanerva A, Tapper J, Koivisto-Korander R, Lassus H, Kauppi L, Hautaniemi S, Vähärautio A, Tang J, Kekäläinen E, Haltia UM, Virtanen A, Jukonen J, Salo T, Färkkilä A.Cancer Immunol Res. 2026 Apr 2;14(4):625-639. doi: 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-25-0743.PMID: 41563843
• Chemotherapy induces myeloid-driven spatially confined T cell exhaustion in ovarian cancer.
Launonen IM, Niemiec I, Hincapié-Otero M, Erkan EP, Junquera A, Afenteva D, Falco MM, Liang Z, Salko M, Chamchougia F, Szabo A, Perez-Villatoro F, Li Y, Micoli G, Nagaraj A, Haltia UM, Kahelin E, Oikkonen J, Hynninen J, Virtanen A, Nirmal AJ, Vallius T, Hautaniemi S, Sorger PK, Vähärautio A, Färkkilä A.Cancer Cell. 2024 Dec 9;42(12):2045-2063.e10. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2024.11.005.PMID: 39658541 

For further information, please send email to: [email protected].