Radiumhemmet

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Radiumhemmet is a non-surgical cancer treatment and radiotherapy research center in Solna, Sweden. It has been part of Karolinska University Hospital since 1938.

Radiumhemmet began in 1910 in central Stockholm as Sweden’s first cancer clinic, building on earlier radium work at Serafimerlasarett (1906) and a radium laboratory (1903). The Serafimerlasarett radium lab moved to the surgical department in 1906, led by Gösta Forssell, who did early radiotherapy research.

The clinic was set up in 1910 by Svenska Cancerforeningen as an independent clinic for radium and X-ray therapy. It started in a small flat at 10 Scheelegatan with 16 beds and one X-ray unit. The name “Radium Home” was chosen to reassure patients. After promising results in gynecological cancers, Stockholm funded its expansion with additional support from Queen Victoria.

Patient numbers grew quickly, rising from 342 in 1911 to 742 in 1914. Forssell hired Elis Berven and James Heyman, and in 1916 the clinic moved to 23 Fjällgatan, doubling beds and X-ray units. The government promised free patient transport from anywhere in Sweden, a service that continues.

In 1917 a separate gynecological division was created. In 1924 new research divisions for tumor pathology and radiophysics were formed. In 1928 King Gustav V’s Jubilee Fund funded further expansion and inspired the creation of other clinics and the Karolinska Hospital.

In 1936 Radiumhemmet and its institutes moved to the new university complex and became state-owned. In 1940 it expanded with a separate X-ray diagnostics division. From the 1940s to 1968, Radiumhemmet modernised while basic research and radiobiology were separated from clinical work.

In 1974 Sweden reorganised cancer care by anatomical specialization, and in 1975 Radiumhemmet became the center for all non-surgical cancer treatment, including prevention, early detection and psychosomatic care. At that time it had 124 beds and treated many outpatients each day.

In 1982 the Riksdag transferred responsibility for the Karolinska Hospital from the state to Stockholm County. The Radiumhemmet building was renovated in 1984 and extended in 1988. By the 1980s and 1990s, government funding shortages affected equipment and wait times, with layoffs occurring by 2015.

Since 2011 Radiumhemmet has been part of the Regional Cancer Centre Stockholm/Gotland, led by Roger Henriksson since 2009. In 2015 Stockholm County Council re-divided non-surgical cancer care among Radiumhemmet, a new center at Södersjukhuset, and a clinic at Saint Göran Hospital in central Stockholm.

Radiumhemmet has led important research in radiology and radiotherapy, especially for gynecological cancers. Forssell published early results in 1909, and the “Stockholm method” for cervical tumors influenced practice. It created patient archives and statistics from 1920 to analyze outcomes. The Radiumhemmets forskningsfonder fund many projects, about 53 million kronor per year as of 2016. In the 1990s, these funds helped establish Cancer Centrum Karolinska with Ulrik Ringborg.