Horizon Europe - EU Mission- Cancer

Cancer: Supporting the implementation of the Cancer Mission The goal of the EU Cancer Mission61 is: ‘to improve the lives of more than 3 million people by 2030, through prevention, cure and for those affected by cancer including their families, to live longer and better’. The four EU Cancer Mission objectives are: Understand; Prevent what is preventable; Optimise diagnosis and treatment; Support quality of life. Its five transversal priorities are: ensure equitable access in all aforementioned areas, innovation, childhood cancer, personalised medicine and citizen engagement. The EU Cancer Mission will address all cancers including poorly-understood cancers62 in men and women, cancers in children, adolescents and young adults (CAYA) as well as in older people, cancers in socioeconomically vulnerable populations, living in either cities, rural or remote areas, across all EU Member States and Associated Countries. The implementation plan specifies the goal and four main objectives as well as implementation details of the EU Cancer Mission63 . The EU Cancer Mission is implemented using a health-in-all policies approach;64 through infrastructure support; regional, social and citizen community development; through investments; support and commitments from public and private sources, including from EU Member States, Associated Countries and industry; through cooperation with third countries; and through synergies with other EU programmes including EU4HEALTH, EURATOM, Digital Europe (for example the Genomics Data Infrastructure65 and the Cancer Image Europe initiative66, Erasmus+, the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2021-2027, and other initiatives related to health and cancer. The EU Cancer Mission is closely aligned with the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, contributing directly to its implementation such as several of its flagship actions. The EU Cancer Mission will directly contribute to the EC priorities outlined in the political guidelines for 2024-2029, of supporting people, strengthening our societies and our social model by improving the lives of people at risk of cancer and the quality of life of cancer patients, for example through citizen engagement and empowerment, earlier and more precise therapies, and improvement of palliative care.

It will also contribute to initiatives outlined in the Mission letter of Commissioner Zaharieva67, such as the Strategy for European Life Sciences and boosting European Research Infrastructure. It also relates to the European Green Deal, including the Zero Pollution Action Plan68 and the Farm to Fork strategy69. The mission proposes research, innovation and policy directions and objectives to identify effective strategies for the development and implementation of cancer prevention, including on environmental factors (e.g. exposure to carcinogens, air pollution, unhealthy diet, nutrition, and low physical activity). Furthermore, it is in line with the industrial 70 and digitalisation strategy71 . The Mission proposes a further upscaling and digitalisation of services, innovation in diagnostics and interventions, and establishing living labs, contributing to the positive impact of efforts by industry and SMEs on the health of citizens. Envisaged opportunities are in the fields of cancer biomarkers, cloud computing and digital applications, and smart apps/sensors. The Mission also supports the integration of AI, machine learning and deep learning approaches to facilitate a better understanding of cancer, to improve prevention, screening and early detection, diagnosis and treatment, clinical decision-making, administration of combinational therapies, and clinical management of patients living with and after cancer. In line with the EU Missions’ Action Plan, the Work Programme will also seek to strengthen synergies with other initiatives within Horizon Europe – in particular, several partnerships, the European Innovation Council and EIT Health – as well as with other public and private third-party funding and investments including national cancer funders and charities. Calls for proposals under this Mission should contribute to setting out a credible pathway for implementing the EU Cancer Mission, thereby contributing to mission objectives. Successful proposals under this Mission should set out a credible pathway to contribute to improving cancer control, and more specifically to all of the following impacts: • Improve understanding of cancer in the context of the environment, work, and lifestyle in the broadest possible sense; • Enhance cross-policy cancer prevention, screening and early detection strategies; • Optimise the diagnosis and treatment of cancer based on the principle of equitable access; • Improve the quality of life of cancer patients, survivors and their families through widely analysing all key factors and needs that are related to the quality of life Accelerate the digital transformation of research, innovation and health systems. In the call for proposals described below, the Commission envisages several actions72: WP2026-2027 For 2026 and 2027, on the EU Cancer Mission objective Understanding, the Commission envisages to support actions on virtual human twin models (VHTs) for advancing the knowledge and understanding of cancer onset and progression, as well as actions on functional genomics in cancer research to increase the understanding of the initiation and evolution of the disease. On the EU Cancer Mission objective Prevention and early detection, the Commission envisages actions to support development of microbiome tools for cancer prevention. On the EU Cancer Mission objective Diagnosis and treatment, the Commission will support clinical trials for rare cancers, actions improving health outcomes of cancer patients by targeting health economics, health systems and outcomes research and actions to support cheaper medicines, medical devices and technologies. On the EU Cancer Mission objective Quality of life, the Commission envisages to support the quality of life of older patients with cancer and to support actions for earlier and more precise palliative care for cancer patients. Furthermore, an action to support young cancer survivors through fostering collaboration of national and regional funders and philanthropies is envisaged. Also, an innovation action to further develop the European Cancer Patient Digital Centre to include a specific module to boost mental health of young cancer patients and survivors, in line with the ambitions of the EU Comprehensive Approach to mental health. Lastly, the Commission will support Ukraine’s cancer research infrastructure through mutual learning initiatives and implementation of research activities, with emphasis on cancer in children, adolescents and young adults. Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in both Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) and Innovation Actions (IAs) falling under this Mission. For additional information please see “Restrictions on the participation of legal entities established in China” found in General Annex B of the General Annexes.