News of the week in plain Finnish | Saturday 18.4.2026

Cancer treatment

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There has been a lot of talk this week about cancer treatment.

Yle’s MOT program reports that Finland has lagged behind other Nordic countries in the treatment of many cancers.

Cancer patients die earlier in Finland than elsewhere.

Now we will tell you more about it.

Finland loses in comparison

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Asta Jakobson’s cancer is being treated with cytostatics and IO drugs. Photo: Silja Viitala / Yle

Treatment outcomes for many cancers in Finland are poorer than in other Nordic countries

Yle’s MOT program has studied a database that compares treatment outcomes for different cancers in the Nordic countries. The database shows how many patients are alive 5 years after they are diagnosed with cancer.

For example, treatment outcomes for lung cancer, liver cancer, leukemia (blood cancer), and cervical cancer in women are worse in Finland than in other Nordic countries.

Treatment initiation may be delayed

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Professor Antti Jekunen believes it is necessary to find out why cancer treatment outcomes in Finland are worse than in other Nordic countries. Photo: Janne Järvinen / Yle

In other Nordic countries, cancer treatment outcomes have gradually improved, but in Finland the results have remained unchanged.

Finnish oncologists say in an interview with MOT that there could be many reasons for this.

In Finland, patients may be slower to see a doctor and get tests than elsewhere. Some patients may also be delaying seeing a doctor themselves, say Professor of Oncology, Chief Physician Antti Jekunen and Pulmonary Diseases Specialist Maria Silvoniemi.

When cancer diagnosis and treatment are delayed, the cancer may have time to spread and the patient’s prognosis for recovery deteriorates.

New, expensive drugs


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Keytruda is the world’s best-selling cancer drug. Photo: Ghadi Boustani / Yle

Oncologists say that the difference in cancer treatment outcomes between Finland and other Nordic countries may also be due to medications.

New drugs have been introduced to treat cancer that activate the patient’s own immune system to fight cancer. These new IO drugs do not help everyone, but they benefit many patients.

However, IO drugs are used less in Finland than in many other countries. This may be because IO drugs are expensive. Treatment for one patient can cost over 100,000 euros.

Repetition

Let’s repeat a little.

In Finland, treatment outcomes for many cancers are poorer than in other Nordic countries.

In Finland, access to a doctor and examinations is slow, which also delays the start of treatment.

New cancer drugs are used less in Finland than elsewhere, because the drugs are expensive.

Here was the News of the Week in plain Finnish. Let’s hear it!