Cancer: Supporting the implementation of the Cancer Mission (Horizon Europe)

The goal of the EU Cancer Mission is: ‘to improve the lives of more than 3 million people by 2030, through prevention, cure and for those affected by cancer including their families, to live longer and better’. The four EU Cancer Mission objectives are: Understand; Prevent what is preventable; Optimise diagnosis and treatment; Support quality of life. Its five transversal priorities are: ensure equitable access in all aforementioned areas, innovation, childhood cancer, personalised medicine and citizen engagement. The EU Cancer Mission will address all cancers including poorly-understood cancers in men and women, cancers in children, adolescents and young adults (CAYA) as well as in older people, cancers in socio-economically vulnerable populations, living in either cities, rural or remote areas, across all EU Member States and Associated Countries.

The implementation plan specifies the goal and four main objectives as well as implementation details of the EU Cancer Mission.

The EU Cancer Mission is implemented using a health-in-all policies approach; through infrastructure support; regional, social and citizen community development; through investments; support and commitments from public and private sources, including from EU Member States, Associated Countries and industry; through cooperation with third countries; and through synergies with other EU programmes including EU4HEALTH, EURATOM, Digital Europe (for example the Genomics Data Infrastructure and the Cancer Image Europe initiative, Erasmus+, the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2021-2027, and other initiatives related to health and cancer.

Topics with submission deadline on 15 September 2026:

• HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-01: Virtual Human Twin (VHT) Models for Cancer Research
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-02: Microbiome for early cancer prediction before the onset of disease
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-03: Pragmatic clinical trials to optimise immunotherapeutic interventions for patients with refractory cancers
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-04: Earlier and more precise palliative care
• 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
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-07: Improve the Quality of Life of older cancer patients

Find the full work programme “Missions " for 2026-2027 here.