Heikki Irjala
MD, PhD
heikki.irjala@utu.fi Savitehtaankatu 5 Turku ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3054-4677 |
Areas of expertise
Otorhinolaryngology; Head and neck surgery; Cancer research
Otorhinolaryngology; Head and neck surgery; Cancer research
Biography
2002 PhD thesis "An Immunotherapeutic Approach to Cancer of the Head and Neck"
2009 Specialist in Otorhinolaryngology
2014 Adjunct Professor of Otorhinolaryngology
2015 Specialist in Head and Neck Surgery
2017 Special Competence in Medical Education
Research
Research is focused on cancer of the head and neck including both clinical aspects (quality of life, treatment methods and outcome, diagnostics, etc.) and basic science like cancer immunology and cell trafficking.
Teaching
Clinical lecturer (Otorhinolaryngology) 2012-2015
Personal teacher mentor for medical students from 2012
Supervisor of several PhD students
Publications 
1 of 4
- Added value of HPV-DNA in situ hybridization as an adjunct to p16 Immunohistochemistry in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (2025)
- Acta Oto-Laryngologica
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Evaluation of Integrin Glycovariants as Biomarkers of Metastasis, Invasion, and Therapy Stratification in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (2025)
- Cancer Medicine
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - MRI-based risk factors for intensive care unit admissions in acute neck infections (2025)
- European Journal of Radiology Open
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Risk factors and preventive measures for severe orofacial and neck infections: a three-year observational study (2025)
- BMC Oral Health
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Assessment of targeted therapy opportunities in sinonasal cancers using patient-derived functional tumor models (2024)
- Translational Oncology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Identification of stemness-related glycosylation changes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (2024)
- BMC Cancer
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Odontogenic neck abscesses caused by Streptococcus anginosus group bacteria: emergency MRI findings (2024)
- Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Psychosocial factors and patient and healthcare delays in large (class T3-T4) oral, oropharyngeal, and laryngeal carcinomas (2024)
- BMC Cancer
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Simultaneous p53 and p16 Immunostaining for Molecular Subclassification of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas (2024)
- Head and Neck Pathology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - xCT as a Predictor for Survival in a Population‐Based Cohort of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (2024)
- Cancer Medicine
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Circulating Tumor DNA in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Association with Metabolic Tumor Burden Determined with FDG-PET/CT (2023)
- Cancers
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - MRI of acute neck infections: evidence summary and pictorial review (2023)
- Insights into imaging
(A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal ) - Patient and health care delays in large (class T3-T4) oral, oropharyngeal, and laryngeal carcinomas (2023)
- Head and Neck
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Pictorial Review of MRI Findings in Acute Neck Infections in Children (2023)
- Children
(A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal ) - Programmed death-ligand 1 and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) - low TIL density may predict poorer long-term prognosis in T1 laryngeal cancer (2023)
- Virchows Archiv
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Suunielusyöpä ja elämänlaatu (2023)
- Duodecim
(A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal ) - The effect of matrices on the gene expression profile of patient-derived head and neck carcinoma cells for in vitro therapy testing (2023)
- Cancer Cell International
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Timing and frequency of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma recurrences after treatment with curative intent (2023)
- Acta Oto-Laryngologica
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - TSPO is a potential independent prognostic factor associated with cellular respiration and p16 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (2023)
- Frontiers in Oncology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Cisplatin overcomes radiotherapy resistance in OCT4-expressing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (2022)
- Oral Oncology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
UTU Research Portal