Research and Innovation

Cancer Mission Work Programme 2024: new calls for proposals

Discover the latest funding opportunities under the Horizon Europe Cancer Mission Work Programme 2024 that opened on 18 April. The deadline to apply is 18 September 2024!

• Use cases for the UNCAN.eu research data platform
• Support dialogue towards the development of national cancer data nodes
• Accessible and affordable tests to advance early detection of heritable cancers in European regions
• Support a pragmatic clinical trial programme by cancer charities
• Improving the understanding and management of late-effects in adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer
• An information portal for the European Cancer Patient Digital Centre

Info Days Mission Work Programme 2024: Did you miss the event? Don't worry! You can watch it again here and learn about the topics included in the EU Missions and cross-cutting activities of the mission Work Programme 2024.

New report available: operational concept for the European Cancer Patient Digital Centre (ECPDC)

Being one of the four flagship initiatives of the Cancer Mission, the European Cancer Patient Digital Centre (ECPDC) aims to enhance the quality of life for cancer patients and survivors, addressing the often-overlooked needs during and after treatment.

To prepare its creation, the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité  developed an operational concept for implementing the ECPDC, considering existing infrastructures and further initiatives.

Report focus groups: citizens view on cancer awareness, prevention and screening 

As part of its citizen engagement activities in 2022, a series of focus groups were organised with citizens in six EU Member States: Bulgaria, Czechia, Finland, France, Lithuania, and Malta. These focus groups addressed their perceptions regarding cancer awareness, prevention, early detection, and screening. This report highlighted the critical need to enhance information and communication on cancer prevention and early detection for EU citizens. More effective actions are necessary to overcome barriers and support citizens in preventing cancer.

Upcoming palliative care conference: breaking stigmas and raising awareness

We are pleased to announce a conference on 8 October 2024 dedicated to the importance of palliative care for cancer patients and their families. 

Despite its crucial role in enhancing quality of life, palliative care often faces stigma and misunderstanding. This event aims to bridge these gaps by informing both citizens and policymakers about the necessity of proper palliative care across Europe. Given the varying levels of integration and understanding in different European countries, the goal is to foster a unified approach that ensures palliative care for all cancer patients who need it. Join us in this vital conversation to advocate for better palliative care awareness and implementation.

Enhancing cancer research through EU data sharing initiatives

One of the main advantages the EU could bring to cancer research is promoting data sharing, particularly in the context of rare cancers with the aims of increasing our mechanistic knowledge on how cancer develops and progresses.

In this context, the EU Cancer Mission through its flagship initiative UNCAN.eu supports the creation of tools to mobilise, manage and extract knowledge from large-scale and increasingly complex data of different sources and domains (clinical data, high-resolution images, multidimensional biological information, environmental data etc.). Preparatory projects for the future UNCAN.eu platform are 4.UNCAN.eu, EOSC4cancer and canSERV. 

Similarly, the European 1+Million Genomes Initiative (1+MG) has developed the 1+MG Minimal Dataset for Cancer (1+MG-MDC), which standardises data collection in cancer research. This dataset includes 140 essential items across eight domains, aiding the aggregation of genomic and clinical data. It facilitates data collection directly from hospital sources, allowing for easier data querying and standardised analytics across different centres. 

Learn more in this publication!

The EU Cancer Mission has developed project clusters to build a portfolio of projects that address the Mission objectives: 1. Understanding, 2. Prevention and early detection, 3. Diagnosis and treatment, and 4. Quality of life.

These clusters bring together projects funded under each call topic. The goal is to maximise the investment the EU Cancer Mission makes in research by engaging researchers who lead the projects in building synergies among projects, conducting joint activities, and ensuring researchers benefit from each other’s insights. This activity will ultimately contribute to mobilising the cancer research community at large, ensuring coherent messages are communicated about what research can achieve for them. 

Click here to know more about the clusters!

#EU Cancer Mission: first project cluster policy webinar - Understanding cancer

Join the first #EUHPP webinar on the Cancer Mission cluster “Understanding cancer” on 4 July 2024! 

Listen to stakeholders’ perspectives on research and innovation, providing an early look at the cluster projects launched under the Cancer Mission. Learn how to better utilise project results around understanding cancer.

Read the agenda and register here.