International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day (ICCD) 2018

Paediatric Cancers in Europe – The Road Ahead: Towards FP9 and the next EU Health Funding Programmes

 20 February 2018 14:30 – 17:00 European Parliament (ASP 3H1), Brussels, Belgium

Event presentations:

On the occasion of its annual ICCD event, SIOPE – the European Society for Paediatric Oncology representing professionals and in cooperation with parents, patients and survivors outlined  future priorities for delivering more and better cure for children and adolescents with cancer across Europe and seek policy-makers perspectives.

Cancer remains the leading cause of children’s mortality by disease in Europe with 6,000 young patients dying each year, and contributes to morbidity in survivors, with the majority experiencing adverse long-term effects.

In 2015, the multi-stakeholder endorsed SIOPE Strategic Plan – A European Cancer Plan for Children and Adolescents was launched with the support of the EU FP7 ENCCA project. It outlined the objectives of the community for the next 10 years including:

  • Improving access to innovative therapies
  • Equal access to standard care, expertise and clinical research
  • Improving the quality of survivorship
  • Fostering state-of-the-art education and training for paediatric oncology professionals
  • SIOPE has been driving this agenda in cooperation with and support of EU programmes and initiatives for the past years. Milestones include the establishment of the European Reference Network for Paediatric Oncology (ERN PaedCan) and targeted activities as part of the EU Joint Action on Rare Cancers (JARC).

Further cooperation and alignment with EU programmes will remain instrumental for the realisation of the SIOPE Strategic Plan in the years to come.

The ICCD2018  illustrated the achievements and highlighted the main areas where further concerted efforts are urgently needed to improve the lives of young cancer patients and survivors in Europe post 2020.

This event was hosted by MEP Elena Gentile (IT, S&D).   

Further info: