Today, the first National Cancer Mission Hub will be inaugurated. This marks a milestone in the implementation of the EU Cancer Mission.
The EU Cancer Mission is an initiative under Horizon Europe. The Mission has set the ambitious goal of improving the lives of more than 3 million people by 2030 through prevention, treatment, and care for those affected by cancer, including their families. This will be in conjunction with Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.
In the coming years, National Cancer Mission Hubs will be established in EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries to engage stakeholders from both public and private sectors in collaborative initiatives and dialogues on cancer.
This launch event is part of an inaugural European Cancer Mission Fair. This event is organised by the Establishing Cancer Mission Hubs: Networks and Synergies (ECHoS) project, which was launched under the EU Cancer Mission, in collaboration with the European Commission. It will take place in Warsaw, Poland, from 20 to22 May 2025.
Joanna Drake, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s DG for Research and Innovation said:
“The burden of cancer is spread unequally in Europe. In Poland, for example, cancer mortality rates are higher than the EU average. That is why we welcome the establishment of the first Cancer Mission National Hub – the first of many that will contribute to improving cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, and care across Europe.”
Aiming at raising awareness, and supporting the implementation of the EU Cancer Mission in Poland and across Europe, the launch event will feature the Director of the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology (MSCI, Poland) Beata Jagielska, the Polish Minister of Health Izabela Leszczyna, and the Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Science and Higher Education Andrzej Szeptycki.
Other high-level speakers will include the Deputy Director-General at the European Commission’s Directorate-General Research and Innovation Joanna Drake and Chair of the European Parliament’s SANT Committee Adam Jarubas MEP.
Background
Cancer is one of Europe’s major societal challenges, accounting for a quarter of all deaths (1.4 million people in 2024) and overtaking cardiovascular diseases in several EU Member States. The number of people diagnosed with cancer is forecast to increase by 30% in the next 15 years. Cancer is spread unequally across Europe, however, with inequalities in access to knowledge, prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and care.
Over EUR 3.5 billion (EUR 1.5 billion in Horizon 2020, EUR 2 billion in Horizon Europe to date) EU research funds have been dedicated to cancer research since 2014. EU-funded projects address a wide range of common and rare cancers; ranging from a better understanding of how cancer develops, progresses and resists treatment, to improving prevention. This includes research on primary prevention such as behavioural change and vaccination, screening and early detection. EU-funded research has also addressed diagnosis, treatment, quality-of-life of patients living with cancer as well as survivors.
ECHoS aims at creating National Cancer Mission Hubs in each Horizon Europe Member States and Associated Country, operating at national, regional, and local levels. These Hubs will have a key role in involving all relevant national, regional, and local stakeholders, including citizens, in cancer-related policy dialogues. The ECHoS consortium consists of 61 organisations and 30 countries.
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