Network supporting the European Union’s Cancer Mission

TECNALIA and the Carlos III Health Institute lead research into diagnosis, prevention and cure to help cancer patients.

TECNALIA and the Carlos III Institute of Health are leading a multidisciplinary team in Spain to deploy a network to support the European Union’s Cancer Mission through R&D coordination. It is a network that brings together the cutting-edge expertise of 58 governmental, health, academic and non-profit organisations from 28 countries.

The Cancer Mission, within the European Union’s Horizon Europe (HE) research programme, aims to improve the lives of more than three million people affected by cancer by 2030 through prevention. This new initiative will contribute to doing so.

Cancer represents a global health challenge. According to the European Cancer Information System, the incidence of cancer in Europe is expected to increase by 20.96% and mortality by 31.76% in 2040. This means that, if no further action is taken, around 3.24 million people in Europe will be diagnosed with cancer and 1.66 million people will die from the disease.

European Network for Cancer Research

To meet this challenge, multidisciplinary task forces, called National Cancer Mission Hubs, will be set up in each country to engage a wide range of public and private sector actors, including citizens, in cancer-related policy dialogues.

TECNALIA plays a relevant role in the leadership of this project in Spain: it will monitor the project and the actions to be developed and will coordinate cancer healthcare and R&D actions with policy-making processes. The challenge is to promote people-centred healthcare and research systems in conjunction with the Carlos III Health Institute.

The creation of a National Cancer Mission Hub in Spain represents a key step in the development of cancer policy in Europe, as this initiative will foster national and international collaboration, encourage inclusion and drive innovation in cancer care.

TECNALIA and the Carlos III Institute of Health will coordinate cancer R&D and healthcare through the ECHoS project, with policy-making processes to promote people-centred healthcare and research systems.

“We hope that this project, called ECHoS, will contribute to accelerating cancer research by adapting it to the needs of patients and society“, according to TECNALIA researchers, Olatz Murua, Ainhoa Egizabal and Carmen Pastor.