Research and Innovation

Welcome to the second edition of the EU Cancer Mission newsletter!  

Thanks to you, EU Cancer Mission is driving change, advancing cancer research and improving lives across the EU. In this edition, we will explore the events happening around World Cancer Day and reflect on previous EU Cancer Mission achievements.

Uniting for Progress: Fighting Cancer Together this World Cancer Day 

This #WorldCancerDay, the EU Cancer Mission renews its commitment to reducing inequities in cancer care and to a future free of preventable cancer deaths. We must collaborate effectively to address one of the most pressing health challenges of our time. Whether you’re a researcher, policymaker, healthcare provider or advocate, your contribution matters. Let’s work together to advance innovation, improve care and save lives.

World Cancer Day 2025: HaDEA Project Showcase

📅 Date: Tuesday 4 February 2025 
📍 Location: Brussels and online

This one day event will showcase the impact of EU-funded projects such as those supported by the Cancer Mission through several panel discussions exploring reducing inequalities, best practices from prevention to diagnosis and treatment, quality of life and more.  

EU Cancer Mission Manager, Joanna Drake, Deputy Director-General: Planet, People and Science for Policy, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), will reflect on crucial policies and actions to beat cancer alongside fellow high level speakers. 

By bringing together representatives of EU-funded cancer projects, NGOs, health organisations working in the field of cancer, National Contact Points and Focal Points, and policymakers, in-person attendees will benefit from networking opportunities.  

Don't miss this opportunity to learn, connect and contribute to the fight against cancer. More information is available here. 

European Cancer Imaging Initiative - Joining forces for AI-powered imaging to save lives

📅 Date: Thursday 6 February 2025 
📍 Location: Brussels and online

Exploring how the European Cancer Imaging Initiative drives forward the EU's AI strategy and supports the European Health Data Space implementation, promising to revolutionise cancer diagnosis and treatment. Let’s delve into the exciting future of the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium and hear from high-level political representatives – the agenda is full for this promising event!

Key figures in the digital transformation of healthcare across EU Member States, including representatives from health ministries, digital health agencies, hospitals and cancer research institutes, researchers and SMEs working with imaging data will gather together.  

Discover more about this unmissable event here. 

Cancer Mission Bus Roadshow: Bringing Horizon Europe to Communities

Connecting with rural communities, encouraging local engagement and raising awareness of EU Cancer Mission activities, focusing on cancer prevention and screening, the Cancer Mission Bus Roadshow is literally driving change across the continent. Over the summer of 2024, the Cancer Mission Bus Roadshow visited 15 stops across Lithuania, Poland and Romania during its pilot stage.

It attracted 16 800 visitors, reached nearly 11 million people and joined forces with 66 national and local stakeholders, including ministries of health and research, National Cancer Institutes, cancer patients and survivors’ organisations, healthcare professionals, researchers. This impactful initiative represents a meaningful step forward in prevention by engaging citizens directly. 

Read the full article in the Horizon Europe Magazine here.

EU Cancer Mission Cluster Policy Webinar: Prevention & Early Detection (Screening)

Screening and early detection were top of the agenda for the EU Cancer Mission Cluster Policy Webinar on 10 December 2024, hosted by DG RTD. Considering cancer prevention strategies, innovative approaches including new screening technologies and best practices for reducing cancer risk factors across EU Member States were highlighted. The benefits of research projects working together in a cluster were also discussed as well as patient involvement. The discussion emphasised the importance of screening and early detection as well as lifestyle interventions to achieve impactful prevention outcomes.  

Around 400 participants, including Horizon Europe project organisers, policymakers and stakeholders were virtually united and given a space to build synergies between projects and conduct joint activities. 

This webinar is part of an ongoing series of clusters for each objective of the EU Cancer Mission, that will continue over the course of 2025. We strongly encourage you to attend future webinars to benefit from this opportunity. 

The next EU Cancer Mission Cluster Policy webinar on Prevention and early detection (Behavioural change and implementation research) will take place on Tuesday 29 April 2025. 

Watch this space for upcoming events.

Innovative Palliative Care for People with Cancer Conference

• Evidence shows that palliative care is the most effective when introduced early.
• The value of palliative care should be more and better communicated especially addressing the stigma and fear in this area.
• The workforce for palliative care requires urgent recognition, support and high attention in the context of the trend towards dying at home and the ageing population.

These were the key takeaways from the Innovative Palliative Care for People with Cancer Conference that took place on 8 October 2024, hosted by the Cancer Mission in DG RTD . 

Over 400 researchers, healthcare providers, policymakers, patient organisations and company representatives joined this hybrid event. The conference showcased best practices and innovations in palliative care, emphasising its role in enhancing the quality of life for cancer patients and their families. 

A new policy brief about innovative palliative care for people with cancer and sustainable solutions for the future was presented. The full brief is available to read here. 

Rewatch the recorded sessions here.

Publication of the Second Edition of EC - OECD Country Cancer Profiles

On 3 February 2025, ahead of World Cancer Day, the Commission, together with OECD, published the second edition of Country Cancer Profiles. Released for the first time in 2023 as a deliverable of the European Cancer Inequalities Registry, the Country Cancer Profiles series provides a regular reporting mechanism to assess cancer care and inequalities across the 27 EU Member States, Norway and Iceland. 
 
The 2025 Country Cancer Profiles highlight the latest insights on cancer burden, prevention and care across European countries. This new edition includes a Synthesis report, showcasing the key findings that emerge from the Country Profiles at the EU level. In addition, a Cancer Performance Tracker (CaPTr) developed for each country provides a snapshot of the country’s performance compared to the EU level across several cancer indicators.  The Country Cancer Profiles package is a powerful tool to identify areas where countries are performing well and where substantial work remains to be done, both at the national and EU levels.
 
Country Cancer Profiles 2025 | ECIR - European Cancer Inequalities Registry

ECHoS Project: Building National Cancer Mission Hubs

The ECHoS project continues to advance its mission of creating National Cancer Mission Hubs (NCMHs) to support the national, regional and local implementation of the EU Cancer Mission. One of its recent activities was the successful second ECHoS Inception Dialogue held in Porto, where stakeholders discussed practical steps for fostering cancer research, innovation and care at the national level. 

The future National Cancer Mission Hubs will serve as vital platforms for knowledge exchange, stakeholder engagement and local action, ensuring that the EU Cancer Mission’s impact reaches every corner of Europe. 

For more updates check the ECHoS website here. 

Behind the Spotlight: Policy dialogues

Addressing the need for collaborative efforts in the fight against cancer, the OBS-D&C4Cancer project, led by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, has facilitated a series of policy dialogues in support of the ECHoS project's efforts to establish National Cancer Mission Hubs (NCMHs).

These dialogues, encompassing inception, issue-specific and cross-cutting discussions based on national priorities, provide a platform for stakeholders to address specific cancer concerns. Participants include policymakers, researchers and representatives from diverse cancer communities, representing national, multi-national and sub-national entities.

By helping national stakeholders to co-design and co-create the NCMH, it builds a meaningful, tailored structure in which EU Cancer Mission objectives can be implemented and cancer research and care can be advanced in each country.

An overview of the past and upcoming policy dialogues is below:

Inception dialogues 

• First inception dialogue of the Maltese National Cancer Mission Hub (Malta) - 10 July 2024. Read the summary here.
• Second inception dialogue of the Portuguese National Cancer Mission Hub (Portugal) - 1 October 2024. Read the summary here.
• Follow up inception dialogue of the Maltese National Cancer Mission Hub (Malta) – 22 November 2024.

Issue-specific dialogues

• Cervical cancer screening (Romania) - 3 July 2024.
• Lung cancer screening (Portugal) - 28 November 2024.

Cross-cutting dialogues

• Lung cancer screening as a cross-cutting issue (Spain) - 16 September 2024.
• Cancer workforce as a cross-cutting issue (Belgium) - 21 November 2024.
• Equitable access to clinical trials (Italy) - 27 February 2025 (scheduled).
• Comprehensive cancer centres (Hungary) - 13 March 2025 (scheduled).
  Precision medicine (Sweden) - 8 April 2025 (scheduled).

Did you enjoy this newsletter? 

• Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn for the latest updates. 
• Get involved with the hashtags #MissionCancer #EUMissions #HorizonEU online.
• Invite your network to subscribe here.

If you have any feedback or require more information, you can reach us at RTD-SANTE-CANCER-MISSION@ec.europa.eu