Comprehensive Cancer Center
We are responsible for oncological treatment of cancer (other than surgical treatment) and hematology, i.e. treatment of blood disorders, breast surgery, and radiation therapy services in the Uusimaa region. We also treat patients arriving from across Finland requiring specialist medical care. The Comprehensive Cancer Center is one of the 13 departments in the Helsinki University Hospital Area.

The Comprehensive Cancer Center is Finland's largest and most versatile cancer treatment center. We provide personalized treatment, the quality of which is guaranteed by the personnel’s high level of competence and our modern state-of-the-art technology.
The Comprehensive Cancer Center is the first Nordic cancer center to have undergone OECI accreditation and achieved the highest possible status of a Comprehensive Cancer Center. Our expertise is internationally highly valued and our treatment results are world-class.
Our customer panels and experts by experience bring an important patient perspective to the development of our operations.
The key objective of our research activities is to promote translation, i.e. faster and more efficient utilization of the research results for the benefit of the patient. At the center, we also carry out phase I studies and first-in-man trials.
Divisions
We are responsible for non-surgical treatment of cancers in the Uusimaa region.
We are responsible for the examination, diagnosis and treatment of acute and severe hematological diseases. Treatments for malignant blood disorders have improved remarkably in recent years, and today most patients can be cured with cytostatic therapy or stem cell transplantations.
Our Hematology Outpatient Clinic also has a Coagulation Disorder Unit where we diagnose and treat patients with occlusions or hemorrhage. In addition, we have a national special responsibility for bone marrow transplantations (allogeneic stem cell transplantation).
In breast surgery, we are responsible for surgical treatment of breast cancer and other breast tumors, corrective breast surgery and breast reduction surgery, and surgery for inflammatory changes in breasts. With more than 1,600 breast surgeries performed each year, we are the field’s largest operator in the Nordic countries. Approximately 90% of the breast cancer patients we treat are alive five years after diagnosis.
We are responsible for radiation therapy in the Uusimaa region. We are Finland's largest unit providing radiation therapy. The radiation therapy methods at our disposal are the most versatile in Finland. We treat 4,300 patients every year and more than 300 patients every day.
The clinical trial unit studies cancer treatments that usually are not yet publicly available. The research target may be a new cancer medicine that has not yet been granted market authorization.
Our unit performs international cancer medicine research in phases I through IV, and treats all types of cancer. The treatments are demanding trial treatments that include cytotoxic drug treatment, immunological, antibody, and viral treatments, as well as radiotherapy.
Palliative care at HUS includes the Palliative Care Center and the Psychosocial Support Unit.
Palliative Care Center
The Palliative Care Center houses a multi-professional referral and consultation outpatient clinic that provides comprehensive, quality-of-life care for patients with life-threatening and terminal illnesses without limitation to specific diagnoses. The care to be provided supports the treatment of the patient’s illness in accordance with the objectives of the treatment at different stages of the illness.
Treatment includes the monitoring and implementation of symptomatic treatment, planning of follow-up treatment, discussions supporting palliative care, palliative radiotherapy together with the Radiation Therapy Ward, and psychosocial support for patients and families in cooperation with the Psychosocial Support Unit and other psychosocial support professionals.
Psychosocial Support Unit
The Psychosocial Support Unit operates as part of the comprehensive care provided, and is part of the Comprehensive Cancer Center’s support functions. The Psychosocial Support Unit supports patients and their loved ones at different stages of cancer treatment and palliative care. The aim of the support is to alleviate the psychological crisis and strain caused by cancer or terminal illness and to support mental well-being at different stages of treatment.
Nursing at the Comprehensive Cancer Center
We aim to provide all our patients the best possible care that responds to their diverse needs. At the Comprehensive Cancer Center, our work is guided by the HUS nursing strategy and the principles of the professional operating model: professional skills, genuine caring, holistic care, cooperation, and ethics. Nurses respond to the individual needs of patients in a holistic manner. In assisting people, we emphasize encountering the patient and their loved ones. We are present, we listen, we encourage, and we support.
Our nursing is based on strong professional expertise, safety, and reliability. The focus of nursing lies in the high-quality guidance provided to the patient and their family. It is important to us that patients manage well at home with the help of the guidance they receive from us. Goal-oriented, patient-centered and evidence-based guidance enables the patient to participate in their treatment and ensures the best possible quality of life for them. We make sure that patient care runs smoothly in cooperation with other healthcare professionals.
At the Comprehensive Cancer Center, the care we provide a seriously ill patient is nursing at its finest.
We collect information on the quality of nursing as part of daily nursing and develop our practices. As a result of our development work, we have been able to decrease the number of infections related to central vein cannulation on our inpatient wards. We monitor and prevent adverse events that may occur in connection with drug therapy, in which a tissue irritant enters the tissue surrounding the vein
Patient safety is crucial to us. On our inpatient wards, we are constantly developing our practices for preventing patient falls, for example, with the help of smart technology. Thanks to high-quality nursing, we have very few cases of tissue damage and catheter-related urinary tract infections occurring during treatment. Our patients are happy with the work that our nurses do. We plan a patient’s treatment together with the patient. This provides them with the experience that they are provided holistic care and that they understand the information they receive on their treatment.