EUREGHA at the ERRIN Health WG meeting on “The role of regions in the Cancer Mission: taking stock and looking at the future”

May 28, 2025

Regions Driving Innovation in Cancer Prevention: Highlights from the ERRIN & EUREGHA Joint Working Group Meeting

On 28 May 2025, EUREGHA and ERRIN co-hosted a joint Health Working Group meeting on Cancer, bringing together regional health actors, researchers, and representatives from the European Commission’s Cancer Mission Secretariat to discuss regional engagement in the Cancer Mission and explore impactful local practices.

Held in Brussels and online, the session was a key moment to connect EU policy and funding opportunities with the real-world innovation happening across Europe’s regions.

Setting the Stage: The Role of Regions in the Cancer Mission

Opening remarks by Louise Årebäck (Region West Sweden) and Michele Calabrò (EUREGHA Director) underscored the need for deeper regional involvement in EU cancer strategies. The meeting aimed to take stock of the Cancer Mission’s rollout and identify concrete avenues for regional engagement, particularly in light of the upcoming 2025 Horizon Europe Cancer Mission calls.

Insights from the European Commission

Annika Nowak and Kay Duggan-Walls from the Cancer Mission Secretariat presented the latest developments, including:

61 ongoing Cancer Mission projects
The creation of the UNCAN.eu data platform
Progress on National Cancer Mission Hubs

They also introduced upcoming 2025 Horizon Europe calls, highlighting new opportunities for regions in fields such as innovative surgery, early-stage paediatric cancer trials, and nutrition for older cancer patients. The speakers emphasized the need for citizen engagement, patient voices, and regional innovation to remain central to the Mission.

Building a European Cancer Hub Network

Ian Gauci Borda (ECHoS project, Xjenza Malta) shared the project’s efforts to develop a Europe-wide network of National Cancer Mission Hubs using a “Pentah Helix” model involving academia, healthcare, patients, and authorities. He highlighted the need to better integrate regions in the next ECHoS phase and stressed the importance of shared tools and knowledge transfer to deliver innovation equitably across Europe, including underserved areas.

Regional Innovation in Action

The meeting showcased outstanding examples of regional leadership in cancer prevention and care:

VISION Project (IRST, Emilia-Romagna): Presented by Nicola Normanno, this proposal for a multiomics liquid biopsy screening programme aimed at inherited cancer syndromes illustrates the importance of early regional involvement in research design.
Digi-CaRe (Region Skåne): Patrik Göransson introduced this fully digital, interdisciplinary cancer rehabilitation platform, offering personalized, remote support and long-term follow-up.
Mammobile (Région Normandie): Elodie Guillaume shared results from a mobile mammography screening unit that successfully reached women in rural and underserved areas, addressing social and geographic inequalities in breast cancer prevention.

What’s in It for Regions?

The discussion emphasized the need to scale up these practices, promote regional participation in EU-funded consortia, and allocate funding for local engagement in the Cancer Mission. EUREGHA’s contribution was pivotal in connecting regional actors with EU policy-makers and projects, reinforcing its mission to amplify regional voices in EU health policy and support peer learning across borders.