Objectives

Cancer affects everyone regardless of age, gender or social status and represents a tremendous burden for patients, families, and societies at large. According to the European Cancer Information System, each year in Europe, 2.7 million people are diagnosed with cancer, and 1.3 million lives are lost to the disease.

By 2040, the number of cancer diagnoses is projected to surpass 3.24 million, driven by factors such as an aging population, unhealthy lifestyles, and unequal access to screening and care.

In response, the EU Cancer Mission, alongside Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, represents the European Commission’s strategy to reverse this alarming trend.

The EU Cancer Mission unites research, innovation, and public health policies in ways that cannot be achieved through isolated research or policy actions at the EU, national, regional, or local levels.

By investing in research and collaborating with citizens and a broad range of stakeholders, the Mission generates new evidence and fosters innovative concepts to inform policy actions across its 4 key objectives: understanding cancer, prevention and early detection, diagnosis and treatment, and improving quality of life.

Fully integrated with the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the Cancer Mission builds on extensive synergies with other EU programmes and initiatives, promoting a true mission approach.

In addition, the EU Cancer Mission prioritises several cross-cutting themes, including citizen and stakeholder engagement, equitable access, childhood cancer, innovation, and personalised medicine.

 

Actions

This call covers the following topics:

HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-04: Earlier and more precise palliative care

HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-01: Virtual Human Twin (VHT) Models for Cancer Research

HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-07: Improve the Quality of Life of older cancer patients

HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-03: Pragmatic clinical trials to optimise immunotherapeutic interventions for patients with refractory cancers

HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-02: Microbiome for early cancer prediction before the onset of disease

HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-05: Boosting mental health of young cancer survivors through the European Cancer Patient Digital Centre (ECPDC)

HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-06: Development of a research capacity building programme on cancer with and for Ukraine