Dear colleagues, members, and partners,
It has been quite some time since our last newsletter update, and I am delighted to reconnect with all of you.
The last few months have been filled with exciting events and important milestones for our community, starting with our unforgettable face-to-face gathering in May 2026 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. The 7th SIOP Europe Annual Meeting was truly a highlight of the year, bringing together 1,310 delegates from across Europe and beyond to network, exchange knowledge, and strengthen collaborations across the paediatric oncology community. What makes this meeting so special - and so different from any other scientific congress - is that its agenda is not handed down from above. It is built from the ground up, by the many groups doing the work. Our 18 European Clinical Trial Groups shaped the heart of the scientific programme: the liquid tumour groups leading the way on Monday and Tuesday, and the solid tumour groups taking the stage on Wednesday and Thursday, each sharing practice-changing results and forging the collaborations that will define the next generation of clinical trials. Alongside them, our 9 SIOP Europe Working Groups wove essential, cross-cutting perspectives through every day of the programme, ensuring that the meeting spoke not only to cure, but to the quality of that cure. It is this truly community-driven design, shaped by clinical trial groups, working groups, Young SIOPE and patient organisations alike, that gives our Annual Meeting its unique dynamism, and we are enormously grateful to every group and every convenor who gave their time and expertise to build such a rich and meaningful agenda. None of this would have been possible without our cherished partnership with CCI Europe. CCI Europe once again ensured that the voices and lived experience of those who matter most were woven into every part of our programme - enriching every discussion. Over the course of four days, 125 sessions were delivered showcasing the latest advances in research, clinical practice and collaborative initiatives. The outstanding level of engagement, with many sessions reaching full capacity, once again demonstrated the strength of our community.
Together with the members of our Board, we are particularly grateful to our sponsors, partners, the Operations and Scientific Committees, the local organising team, the SIOPE Office team and, of course, all of you - our participants - whose contributions made the event such a success.
The Annual Meeting also gave us a wonderful opportunity to showcase the progress of our European projects and initiatives, many of which were featured in the dedicated Project Spotlight sessions. I encourage you to explore this newsletter to learn more about their latest achievements and the impact they continue to make across the paediatric oncology landscape.
Looking ahead, I am also pleased to introduce one of our newest European initiatives: the MIREYA project, in which SIOPE will lead Work Package 2 on Communication and Dissemination, Stakeholder Engagement and Exploitation and contribute to several other work packages, reinforcing our commitment to advancing collaborative, high-impact European research that will ultimately benefit children, adolescents and young adults with cancer. Through this leadership role, we will ensure that the project's results are effectively communicated, widely disseminated and translated into lasting impact for the research and clinical communities, policymakers and other key stakeholders.
MIREYA is a pan-European, multi-omics, multi-exposure and multidisciplinary project that will advance our understanding of how environmental exposures influence the development and outcomes of rare cancers in children, adolescents and young adults (AYAs). Bringing together epidemiological data from population-based cancer registries in nine European countries—including around 65,000 children and AYAs with rare and less-studied cancers and more than 500,000 controls - the project will combine biological, environmental, social and socioeconomic data using innovative AI-driven causal analyses. This integrated approach aims to better understand cancer risk and outcomes across different stages of life while also generating the first evidence on the potential economic impact of prevention policies targeting modifiable environmental risks and reducing inequalities. As part of the Understanding (Environmental Exposure in CAYA) Cluster, MIREYA will contribute to addressing common scientific challenges in close collaboration with the European Commission.
I hope you enjoy reading this special edition of our newsletter. Our EU funded projects have the capacity to change landscape for childhood cancer in Europe and beyond. I encourage you to follow, share and engage with them through your networks and social media.