Clinical research by Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructures for the benefit of patients with common cancers

Expected Outcome: Proposals under this topic should aim to deliver results that are directed and tailored towards, and contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Patients afflicted by lung, bowel, breast or prostate cancer[1], will benefit from the outcomes of evidence-based, tailored, innovative, affordable and accessible diagnosis- and treatment-centred clinical research programmes by comprehensive cancer infrastructures[2]. Researchers, physicians, patient representatives, civil society, charities, foundations, insurance companies, SMEs and innovators[3] will seize opportunities to respectively co-create, support, upscale or commercialise outcomes of evidence-based, tailored, affordable and accessible clinical research programmes for the diagnosis and treatment of patients afflicted by lung, bowel, breast or prostate cancer. National and regional healthcare providers, healthcare payers, policymakers and authorities in European regions, EU Member States and Associated Countries have the evidence to engage in piloting, upscaling or implementing appropriate clinical research programmes for the diagnosis and treatment of patients afflicted by lung, bowel, breast or prostate cancer. Scope: Lung, bowel, breast and prostate cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence across EU Member States and Associated Countries are increasing while showing substantial variation, with Central and Eastern European communities, regions and countries particularly affected[4]. At the same time, the level of development of comprehensive cancer infrastructures continues to vary considerably across EU Member States and Associated Countries, contributing to inequalities, in particular in terms of clinical research capacity as well as quality of and access to innovative diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. Applicants should address all of the following: Comprehensive cancer infrastructures across the EU Member States and Associated Countries come together to conduct clinical research on lung, bowel, breast or prostate cancer focusing on at least one of the following areas: Innovative diagnostics; Radiotherapy, surgery, chemotherapy; Therapeutic cancer vaccines for the treatment of cancer patients with early-stage, advanced, metastatic or minimal residual disease (e.g. after debulking by surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or immunotherapy); Implementation of appropriate clinical practice guidelines for diagnosis and treatment in countries without or with limited Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructures; Comprehensive cancer infrastructures should extensively pilot and upscale innovative diagnostic or treatment programmes in at least four different EU Member States or Associated Countries. One of the four targeted EU Member States or Associated Countries should represent a country without or with a less developed comprehensive cancer infrastructure. To ensure that together they address - and whenever feasible - overcome challenges because of the national, regional, or local research and healthcare context (e.g. those faced by small(er) EU Member States, or due to a large rural population, or particular cancer burden, socio-economic or environmental situation, or limited clinical research capacity[5]), when designing and conducting innovative clinical research programmes with added value for the timely diagnosis and treatment of patients with lung, bowel, breast or prostate cancer; Identify additional resources through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Technical Support Instrument[6], the Resilience and Recovery Facility (RRF), philanthropy, the European Investment Bank Group (EIB[7], EIF[8]) or any other initiative; Innovative clinical research programmes should be defined together with patients and their caregivers/families using participative research models and adapted to the needs of the target population and the specificities of healthcare provision at local, regional, or national level, duly reflecting the (cultural) di... Source: EU Funding & Tenders Portal (CC BY 4.0).