Irma Fredriksson, researcher at Karolinska Institutet and consultant at the Breast Centre at Karolinska University Hospital, has been awarded the Swedish Breast Cancer Association’s 2026 Award. She receives the award for her many years of work with the National Quality Register for Breast Cancer, which is used to monitor and improve the quality of Swedish breast cancer care.
Irma Fredriksson is a breast surgeon and leads the breast surgery research group at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet. Since 2019, she has also been the registry manager for the National Quality Register for Breast Cancer, NKBC.
The register collects data on areas such as diagnostics, tumour characteristics, surgery, oncological treatment and follow-up. The information makes it possible to track breast cancer care outcomes over time, identify regional differences and examine how well care meets national targets and guidelines.
During Irma Fredriksson’s time as registry manager, the register has also begun collecting patient-reported data on areas such as quality of life, side effects and patients’ experiences of care after treatment.
Registry data contributes to research and development
The Swedish National Quality Register for Breast Cancer is also an important resource for research. Irma Fredriksson uses data from the register in her own research and is involved in supervising doctoral students at Karolinska Institutet. Her work in register-based research also extends to Nordic collaboration, where methods are used that make it possible to analyse data from several countries and thereby access a larger patient population without the need to share personal data across national borders.
Irma Fredriksson considers the high coverage of the Swedish quality register to be one of its key strengths.
“Many other countries look at how we work and are envious, not least because our register has such good coverage. This is thanks to the many healthcare professionals who take the time to report data, despite the heavy workload in breast cancer care.”
She sees the award from the Swedish Breast Cancer Association as a particularly meaningful recognition after more than 30 years of work with breast cancer.
The Swedish Breast Cancer Association Award is presented in collaboration with Gilead. The award ceremony will be held in connection with the Swedish Breast Cancer Association’s congress on 13 November 2026.
The Swedish Breast Cancer Association , founded in 1982, has 34 local breast cancer associations and just over 13,000 members. With the vision that no one should develop breast cancer, the Swedish Breast Cancer Association supports patient-centred breast cancer research, provides support and rehabilitation to those affected, and campaigns on breast cancer issues.
