Excellence Cluster Proposal · Karolinska Institutet

Cancer Compass

Navigating the future of cancer care through multimodal AI — guiding patients, clinicians, and researchers toward better outcomes.

Excellence Cluster Proposal · VR & Vinnova · 2027–2031

Our Mission

AI that thinks with clinicians,
not instead of them

Cancer Compass is a proposed national excellence cluster led by Karolinska Institutet, bringing together leading researchers in oncology, artificial intelligence, and data science to fundamentally transform how cancer is diagnosed and treated.

The cluster will develop multimodal agentic AI that integrates imaging, genomics, pathology, and clinical data to map each patient's unique disease trajectory. By combining cutting-edge deep learning with causal reasoning and explainability, Cancer Compass aims to build AI that clinicians can understand, trust, and act on.

Proposed under the Swedish Research Council (VR) and Vinnova Excellence Clusters for Groundbreaking Technologies initiative, the cluster would span academia, healthcare, and industry — connecting Sweden's most comprehensive cancer cohorts with world-class AI research.

Focus Areas

Three cancer pillars, one AI platform

Prostate Cancer

Anchored in Sweden's world-leading STHLM0/3-MRI and ProBio cohorts, spanning 37 hospitals across four countries, with over 15 years of longitudinal data.

Breast Cancer

Integrating mammography, MRI, and genomic biomarkers across the ScreenTrust cohorts, led by world-class breast radiology expertise at KI.

Colorectal Cancer

Leveraging the ALSCCA cohort with colonoscopy AI, CT/MRI imaging, and molecular markers including MSI, KRAS, and BRAF profiling.

Scale & Ambition

Designed around Sweden's strongest cancer data

Cancer Compass would connect some of the most comprehensive cancer cohorts in the world, combining clinical records, multi-omics data, imaging, and pathology at a scale that makes genuine AI breakthroughs possible.

The cluster would also encompass ethics, law, and patient equity — ensuring that AI innovation in oncology remains trustworthy, transparent, and fair.

37+

Hospitals in prostate cohort

15+

Years of longitudinal data

Cancer pillars

Countries in collaboration

Partners

Building the cluster together

Cancer Compass unites researchers from seven of Sweden's leading universities, working across oncology, AI, ethics, regulatory science, and innovation. The proposal is backed by formal Letters of Intent from industry, healthcare providers, patient organisations, and strategic partners — all committed to advancing AI-driven cancer care.