EUnetCCC Present in The International Conference that Celebrates IARC’s 60th Anniversary

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) celebrates its sixtieth anniversary with an International Scientific Conference that will take place in Lyon, France, from 19 to 21 May under the motto “Cancer Research into Action”.

The European Network of Comprehensive Cancer Centres (EUnetCCC) contributes to the IARC International Conference with a scientific poster presenting its Cancer Prevention Hub Framework. 

IARC is an Agency of the World Health Organization (WHO) whose mission is to coordinate and conduct research on the causes of human cancer and the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and also to develop scientific strategies for cancer control. IARC is involved in both epidemiological and laboratory research and disseminates scientific information through publications, meetings, courses, and fellowships.

This year the IARC celebrates its sixtieth anniversary with an International Scientific Conference, co-organized by the French Republic, that will bring together experts from around the world and will take place in Lyon, France, from 19 to 21 May, with the motto “Cancer Research into Action”. EUnetCCC contributes to the scientific programme of the Conference with the poster “Implementing Personalised Cancer Prevention in Comprehensive Cancer Centers” wich summarizes its “Cancer Prevention Hub Framework”.

The objective of EUnetCCC, a groundbreaking initiative launched in October 2024 under Flagship 5 of Europe's Beating Cancer Plan and co-funded by the EU4Health programme, is that every European cancer patient, regardless of their location, benefits from equitable access to state-of-the-art medical care and the most advanced therapeutic innovations.

Bringing together 163 partner institutions from 31 countries, EUnetCCC aims to advance cancer care through an inclusive membership, designation and certification framework, sustainable cross-centre partnerships emerging through a membership organisation, the seamless integration of cutting-edge research with clinical practice, and orchestrating network-based collaboration between Comprehensive Cancer Centres (CCCs) to enhance advancement of care and research.

The Cancer Prevention Hub Framework of EUnetCCC includes a risk factor prevention approach, directed to the main risk factors of cancer – tobacco use, alcohol use, lack of physical exercise/sedentarism, diet and nutrition, environmental exposure to carcinogens, genetic predisposition to cancer, human papillomavirus (HPV) status - with three layers of action:

·       Layer 1 - Universal Prevention, by Health Education, following the guidelines of the IARC´s European Code Against Cancer, 5th edition (ECAC5) developed with the support of Europe´s Beating Cancer Plan and the participation of IARC;

·       Layer 2 - Risk Evaluation, by assessment and stratification of cancer risk;

·       Layer 3 - Advanced Prevention, by personalised screening & testing.

The Cancer Prevention Hub Framework was conceptually developed within the Network Activities of EUnetCCC, under Task 8.2.2 “Personalised Primary Prevention”, led by Dr. Delia Nicoară and her team at the Oncology Institute “Prof. Dr. Ion Chiricuță” Cluj-Napoca (IOCN). The framework reflects a multidisciplinary and prevention-oriented approach designed to support the integration of personalised cancer prevention into Comprehensive Cancer Centres across Europe, in alignment with Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the recommendations of the European Code Against Cancer.

The Cancer Prevention Hub Framework of EUnetCCC wil be implemented in CCCs through dedicated cancer prevention hubs, multidisciplinary teams, digital risk assessment tools, fast track referrals and transferability protocols.

IARC had a strong presence in the first Annual Meeting of EUnetCCC, which took place in Paris on November 6 and 7, 2025, both in the sessions and the exhibition. Notably, the Director of IARC, Dr Elisabete Weiderpass, took part in the first plenary session entitled “From the European Cancer Plan to Comprehensive Cancer Centres: Strengthening Cancer Care, Research, Training and Education Across Europe”.