Lisa Gunnesson: Toward more personalized care for PPGL tumors
There is little research on the rare tumors pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL). Lisa Gunnesson’s dissertation provides new insights that could lead to more personalized care with fewer side effects and shorter hospital stays.
LISA GUNNESSON
Dissertation defense: 14 June 2024 (click for details)
Doctoral thesis: Peri-operative management, surgical outcome and prognostication in pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma
Research area: Surgery
Sahlgrenska Academy, The Institute of Clinical Sciences
Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (collectively known as PPGL) are rare tumors that are mostly benign. However, they can become life-threatening due to the secretion of stress hormones. About five people per million are affected annually, and 10-15 percent of these develop metastatic disease.
“Because PPGL tumors are so rare, they are difficult to research. Many of the management guidelines are based on outdated knowledge. Additionally, it is hard to predict which tumors have the highest risk of spreading. There is a great need for better prognostic tools,” says Lisa Gunnesson, an endocrine surgeon at Sahlgrenska University Hospital and a researcher at the Institute of Clinical Sciences.
Aiming for modernized care
What is your research about?
“I am aiming for modernized and more personalized care for patients with PPGL. In my thesis, I explored the possibility of operating on PPGL patients without the traditional pre-treatment to reduce side effects and shorten hospital stays,” says Lisa Gunnesson, adding:
“I also looked at the outcomes for both mothers and babies when PPGL occurs during pregnancy. Additionally, we studied the expression of several proteins in tumor cells and their relationship to the development of metastatic disease.”
“Pre-treatment less necessary”
What are the key research findings and their potential practical benefits?
“The findings from papers I and II suggest that with today’s healthcare, it is safe to operate on PPGL, even during pregnancy, and that the traditional pre-treatment is no longer as necessary. In Papers III and IV, we observed higher expression tendencies of HIF-2α and lack of SDHB in more malignant tumors. Both of these proteins have potential as markers in prognostic assessments.”
What has been enjoyable and rewarding, and what has been challenging about your doctoral project?
“Researching rare diseases makes it hard to gather enough patient data to confidently draw conclusions. But I believe we have made significant progress toward more modernized PPGL care, and it is both enjoyable and rewarding to contribute to that.”
Text: Jakob Lundberg