Implementation research for cancer prevention in Europe

The Reimagining Cancer Research in Europe initiative was developed in collaboration with UICC’s European members and represents a partnership between UICC, the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF), the Swedish Cancer Society (Cancerfonden), the Danish Cancer Society and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the World Cancer Research Fund International and Wereld Kanker Onderzoek Fonds. The initiative responds to the identified need for further investment to leverage the potential of cancer prevention to reduce the growing burden of cancer in Europe, as highlighted in a recent Lancet Oncology Commission report

As part of this initiative, a grants programme was launched to support the adoption and integration of existing evidence-based interventions for cancer prevention into health system policies and practices in Europe to maximise impact and reduce the burden of cancer in alignment with Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and Europe’s Mission on Cancer. The first call opened in December 2023 and three projects were selected for funding which are described below, along with quotes from the project leads.

Second Call for proposals

The second call was open between 14 November 2025 and 16 February 2026. For this funding round, priority will be given to proposals addressing primary cancer prevention (applications focused on secondary prevention remain eligible).

Grants of up to 500,000 Euros are available
Projects of up to two years in duration
Two to four collaborating principal investigators from more than one EU Member State or associated country, with at least one of the countries involved being the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark or the United Kingdom
Review and selection processes to take place between February to May 2026
Awards to be made mid-2026.
Projects must begin no earlier than September 2026 and no later than February 2027, pending completion of ethics approval.

Awarded projects

Awarded projects from first call

Project title	Project lead	Collaborating investigators
Human papillomavirus self-sampling for enhancing cervical screening during the war in Ukraine	Laila Sara Arroyo Mühr Karolinska Institutet, Sweden	Olexiy Kovalyov Zaporizhzhia State Medical University, Ukraine
Co-creating and evaluating a context-adapted risk-stratified population-based prostate cancer screening pilot in Slovenia	Arunah Chandran International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO), France	Urska Ivanus Institut of Oncology, Ljubljana, Slovenia and Monique Roobol Erasmus MC, the Netherlands
STRIVE: Screening, training, and implementation research for improved breast cancer detection and evaluation	Mireille Broeders Dutch Expert Centre for Screening, the Netherlands	Ilze Engele University of Latvia, Latvia

Awarded projects from second call

Project title	Project investigator	Collaborating investigators
FRESHAIR4Schools: Adaptation and implementation of a Dutch tobacco- and nicotine-FREe whole-ScHool pAckage to Strengthen prImaRy cancer prevention in Poland	Rianne van der Kleij, Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum, (Universiteit Leiden) the Netherlands	Mateusz Janowski, Centrum Medycznego Kształcenia Podyplomowego (CMKP), Poland
An Implementation Research Study to Evaluate the HPV-FASTER approach for HPV Vaccination combined with HPV screening Among Women with Missed Opportunities in Conflict-affected Ukraine	Isabel Mosquera, International Agency for Research on Cancer, France	Olexiy Kovalev, World Against Cancer, Ukraine Richard Sullivan, Kings College London, United Kingdom
STop OVarian CAncer in Europe (STOPOVCA-Europe)	Rosella Hermens, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, the Netherlands	Joanne de Hullu Radboud, University Medical Center Nijmegen, the Netherlands Jurgen Piek, Catharina Hospital Eindhoven, the Netherlands Mihaela Grigore, UMF Iași, Romania

The initiative also remains open to partners interested to contribute and further maximise its impact. For any questions or more information regarding the call, please contact UICC: fellows@uicc.org.

"Our project represents a crucial advancement in prostate cancer early detection across Europe. By co-creating and evaluating a risk-stratified screening programme tailored to Slovenia’s unique healthcare landscape, we’re not just reducing overdiagnosis and overtreatment—we’re striving to save lives and improve the quality of care for men at risk. This initiative is part of a broader movement, complementing ongoing screening trials across Europe. At IARC/WHO, we’re proud to collaborate with Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Slovenia and Erasmus MC, the Netherlands to bring forward a future where prostate cancer screening is more effective, and truly life-changing."

Arunah Chandran, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO), France

“Effective cancer screening is essential for a functional society, but there are challenges to provide screening in difficult circumstances such as the ongoing war on Ukraine and the cervical screening solution used in Sweden could address several of the challenges. Self-sampling by the women saves healthcare personnel, while HPV testing only for the most oncogenic HPV types improves specificity, further saving resources and costs. An evaluation into whether this modern, resource-effective screening can be implemented in Ukraine will be useful for the continued worldwide implementation of HPV screening, an essential pillar of the WHO strategy for global elimination of cervical cancer.”

Laila Sara Arroyo, Mühr Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

“In war-afflicted Ukraine many women remain unvaccinated against HPV and have minimal access to cervical cancer screening. In this complex fragile ecosystem, we will offer adult women a combination of HPV based screening and HPV vaccination, and support in extending routine vaccination among girls by counselling their mothers when they attend screening. This collaboration between World Against Cancer Foundation (WACF), King’s College London (KCL) and IARC/WHO is designed to generate transferable implementation insights relevant to other European countries facing health system disruptions, population displacement, and inequities in access to cervical cancer prevention services."

Isabel Mosquera, International Agency for Research on Cancer, France

"Implementation of a comprehensive quality assurance scheme within Latvian breast cancer screening based on the Dutch model, contributes to high-quality screening, improved screening outcomes, and in turn, a reduction in breast cancer morbidity and mortality in the long term. If successful, STRIVE can serve as a model to support similar initiatives in other European countries."

Mireille Broeders, Dutch Expert Centre for Screening, the Netherlands

“Preventing tobacco use and vaping among young people is one of the most effective strategies to reduce future cancer risk. FRESHAIR4Schools uses implementation science to adapt, implement and scale a whole-school tobacco- and vaping prevention approach, integrating 1) a WHO-aligned tobacco- and nicotine-free school policy, 2) the youth-centred vape-prevention program 'Vaping#YourChoice'  and 3) the scalable eHealth tool 'Quiddy' to support cessation. We are proud to collaborate with our Polish partner, the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education (CMKP), and the Trimbos Institute to generate practical, scalable solutions that help create healthier schools and contribute to a tobacco-free generation across Europe.”

Rianne van der Kleij, Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum, (Universiteit Leiden) the Netherlands

“This project represents an important step towards making ovarian cancer prevention accessible to more women across Europe. Building on the successful Dutch implementation of opportunistic salpingectomy, we aim to co-create and evaluate an implementation strategy tailored to the Romanian healthcare system. If successful, this work will not only reduce future ovarian cancer burden in Romania but also provide a blueprint for sustainable implementation in other European countries."

Rosella Hermens, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, the Netherlands

Partners

The Dutch Cancer Society is a nation-wide organization for cancer control in the Netherlands. The society was funded in 1949 by Queen Wilhelmina. Her granddaughter, Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix, is the current patron. The Dutch Cancer Society’s ideal world is one in which nobody dies from cancer ever again. We want fewer people to get cancer, more people to cure, and patients to have a better quality of life, during and after the disease. That’s why we fund and facilitate scientific research, influence policy, and share our knowledge about cancer and its treatment. To make this possible, we raise funds and establish links with other parties involved in cancer control, both here in the Netherlands and elsewhere. The Dutch Cancer Society is entirely dependent on community involvement and donations. Over 100.000 volunteers support the Dutch Cancer Society whether it comes to local or nation-wide fundraising, scientific or policy advice in several councils and committees. We can rely on nearly 1.500 local committees that organize fundraising activities e.g. our annual door-to-door campaign to raise funds for the fight against cancer. The Dutch Cancer Society is supported by over 1 million donors. The Dutch Cancer Society’s office is located in Amsterdam; our professional staff amounts to 198 staff members.

Founded in 1951 to support cancer research, the Swedish Cancer Society is an independent non-profit organization with the vision of finding cures for cancer. The overall aim of the Society is to achieve a higher survival rate and a reduction in the incidence of cancer. Their main task is to raise and distribute money for cancer research. As one of the largest financiers of cancer research in Sweden, the Swedish Cancer Society essentially acts as a national research council. Thanks to the organization’s extensive knowledge about cancer, the Swedish Cancer Society is also active in areas such as public opinion and spreading knowledge about cancer, as well as results of cancer research.

Danish Cancer Society aims to prevent the development of cancer, to improve patients' chances of successful recovery, to limit the physical, psychological and social side-effects of cancer.

The group`s main activities are within research, patient support and prevention. The society has recently begun to focus on wellness programs like: health, food, and biotech advances.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is part of the World Health Organization. Its mission is to coordinate and conduct research on the causes of human cancer, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and to develop scientific strategies for cancer control.

World Cancer Research Fund International (WCRF International) leads and unifies a global network of cancer charities dedicated to the prevention and control of cancer by means of healthy food and nutrition, physical activity and weight management. In particular, WCRF International plays a leading role in directing and supporting the research activities of the WCRF global network. Working with researchers, health professionals, policy makers and other health organisations throughout the world, we provide people with the information they need to make choices that can reduce their chances of developing cancer. WCRF's vision is that the their global network helps people make choices that reduce their chances of developing cancer. They were the first cancer charity to create awareness of the relationship between diet and cancer risk, to focus funding on research into diet and cancer prevention and to consolidate and interpret global research to create a practical message on cancer prevention.

Wereld Kanker Onderzoek Fonds (WCRF NL) began work in 1994 in the Netherlands. Based in Amsterdam, it is the only Dutch charity specializing in cancer prevention by means of food, nutrition, physical activity and associated factors. It has made a major contribution to the acceptance of this message in the Netherlands.

A male nurse checks a screen during a surgery

UICC has a long history of building capacity for cancer organisations globally through grant making.

Grants

As part of its Breast Cancer Programme, UICC has awarded 19 grants to UICC members to support evidence-based projects focused on improving the availability of and access to early detection of breast cancer.

Grants for the early detection of breast cancer

Group of women standing in front of abstract poster and smiling

Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) accounts for 90% of breast cancer deaths. To tackle this growing cancer burden in 2015 UICC teamed up with Pfizer Oncology to launch the Seeding Progress and Resources for the Cancer Community (SPARC) MBC Challenge

Addressing Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC)

Tags Grants Reimagining Cancer Research in Europe Dutch Cancer Society (KWF) Swedish Cancer Society

Last update

Monday 10 August 2026