Ahead of the publication of the Report by the European Commission’s Heitor Expert Group, ESMO calls for cancer research to be prioritised under the upcoming 10th EU Framework Programme (FP10) and direct EU research funding to those specific oncology areas where the most tangible benefits for patients can be achieved.
The Framework Programmes are the largest public schemes of the EU providing funding and subsidies to support research and innovation in Europe, including research on cancer. The forthcoming FP10 programme, set to succeed Horizon Europe, will cover the period 2028-2034.
With the legislative proposals for FP10 planned to be launched in 2025, the European Commission has established the “Expert Group on the Interim Evaluation of Horizon Europe”, chaired by Manuel Heitor (Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico & former Portuguese Minister of Science), tasked with providing advice on the state of research and innovation in the EU. The Heitor Group will publish a report on 16 October 2024 with strategic advice and concrete suggestions for the future.
Ahead of the publication of the Report, and having engaged directly with the Heitor Group, ESMO calls on the EU to prioritise cancer research under FP10, with dedicated research funding to be allocated to the following areas:
- Support research on personalised therapies for molecularly defined tumour subsets: To sustain and drive cancer research in the EU and accelerate medical innovation in oncology, it is vital that FP10 supports research on personalised therapies for molecularly defined tumour subsets. This involves the development of targeted agents, immunomodulatory therapies, vaccines, cell-based therapies, multi-specific antibodies, tumour-agnostic therapies, and antibody-drug conjugates. Efforts should be made to increase access to molecular characterisation in all countries, with the support of dedicated EU level platforms, and further streamline clinical research;
- Improve the quality of cancer care through the development and EU-wide uptake of clinical practice guidelines: It is pertinent that FP10 supports the development and eventual dissemination of high-quality clinical practice guidelines to be used by oncology professionals across all EU Member States. To ensure alignment with the latest standards of care in oncology, they should be in line with the widely-used ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines, which are prepared and reviewed by leading experts and provide evidence-based recommendations;
- Enhance cancer prevention research: To further enhance cancer prevention, it is important that FP10 supports research aimed at generating knowledge on preventable cancer-related risk factors, and also helps drive the development of innovative tools and methods that can aid in cancer prevention. Moreover, cancer prevention initiatives under FP10 can help improve national cancer screening programmes, with the aim to prevent progression to later disease stages during which various cancers can be more challenging to treat effectively;
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions for clinical decision-support, personalised prevention and precision diagnosis/therapy of patients with cancer: To create further opportunities for using AI in oncology and empower medical oncologists to deliver better care to their patients, FP10 should support research into AI solutions for clinical decision-support, personalised prevention and precision diagnosis/therapy of patients with cancer;
- Boost investigations into the multidimensional causes of cancer: Dedicated efforts are needed to support research on those cancers for which the causes are multidimensional or, at present, not yet fully known. To this end, FP10 could support the development of AI-based programs to identify correlates of cancer incidences in large supranational datasets. Epidemiological research for etiologies of cancers should be sustained and accelerated, with dedicated support to large cancer research facilities for molecular characterisation of rare cancers;
- Addressing the needs of ageing populations: FP10 should address the needs of older populations and ensure that new cancer treatments are specifically tailored to them. This involves improving the inclusion of older adults in clinical trials and achieving enhanced patient engagement throughout the care pathway;
- Improve the length and quality of survival of everyone diagnosed with cancer: As there are an estimated 12 million cancer survivors in Europe it is important that research on cancer survivorship is expanded. This should involve supporting dedicated research initiatives aimed at gaining knowledge on the adverse effects of cancer treatments, improving the understanding of health outcomes and quality of life of cancer survivors, measuring the risk of cancer-related death in each patient, and addressing the risks of recurrence. All whilst encouraging the development of high-quality survivorship care and rehabilitation programmes.
ESMO also reiterates its call to ring-fence a budget of at least €200 billion to FP10 and urges the EU Member States to commit to meeting the target of 3% of GDP for national research and innovation investments.
The Society is committed to help ensuring that FP10 becomes a strong instrument for driving cancer research and, to that end, stands ready to collaborate with all stakeholders.
For further information, please contact: publicpolicy@esmo.org