Three international research collaborations awarded EUR 1.49 million to improve cancer prevention across Europe

Three international research collaborations spanning six European countries have been awarded a total of EUR 1.49 million through the UICC-led Reimagining Cancer Research in Europe initiative. The initiative is co-funded by UICC members the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF), the Swedish Cancer Society (Cancerfonden), the Danish Cancer Society, the World Cancer Research Fund International (WCRF International), and Wereld Kanker Onderzoek Fonds (WKOF), alongside the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO) which provides scientific expertise.

The funded projects will explore how to improve the implementation of evidence-based cancer prevention interventions in real-world settings, helping to accelerate their adoption, scale-up and impact. They address challenges in tobacco control, HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening, and ovarian cancer prevention (more details on awarded projects are provided below), and will tackle key implementation barriers and generate practical insights to support the wider uptake of effective prevention strategies across Europe.

In its first call in 2023/2024, the initiative awarded EUR 1.2 million to three projects focused on improving the implementation of cervical, breast and prostate cancer screening and early detection programmes.

These new projects were selected from the second call for proposals, which was launched in November 2025, offering grants of up to EUR 500,000, with a maximum project duration of two years. Eligible proposals required collaboration between two and four principal investigators (PI) based in the EU and eligible non-EU countries in the region, with at least one PI from one of the funding partner countries, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark or the United Kingdom. 

The awarded projects were selected from 11 applications representing 15 European countries. Proposals were assessed by an international review committee comprising experts in implementation science, public health and cancer prevention. Funded projects were selected for their scientific quality, collaborative approach and potential to generate sustainable impact in policy and practice.

The three selected projects address key challenges across tobacco control, cervical cancer prevention, and ovarian cancer risk reduction. The aim is to generate evidence that can inform future scale-up efforts throughout Europe.

“The Review Committee was impressed by the overall quality and diversity of the proposals received through this call. The selected projects stood out not only for their scientific excellence, but also for their strong collaborative approaches and clear potential to generate practical knowledge that can strengthen cancer prevention across Europe. Implementation research is essential to ensuring that proven interventions are effectively implemented and can improve the health of populations as a whole.”
– Craig Sinclair, Cancer Council Victoria, Australia, Chair of the Review Committee

Although effective cancer prevention interventions already exist, they are often not implemented consistently or at sufficient scale to achieve their full impact. Recognising this challenge, major European cancer organisations, UICC members, came together through the Reimagining Cancer Research in Europe Initiative to invest in implementation research that can bridge the gap between evidence and practice. 

“UICC is proud to administer and support this collaborative initiative, conceptualised and funded by UICC members in Europe to strengthen cancer prevention across the region. Nearly half of cancers are preventable, and it is critical that we work to ensure known and proven interventions are effectively implemented and scaled across different settings.” 
– Cary Adams, CEO of UICC

The initiative supports the objectives of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and EU Cancer Mission and seeks to promote international collaboration and the sharing of expertise and lessons learned across countries to strengthen both primary and secondary cancer prevention across the region.

The funded projects will begin implementation in late 2026 and early 2027 and are expected to generate valuable insights into how evidence-based cancer prevention interventions can be adapted, delivered and scaled across different health system contexts. Findings from the projects will contribute to ongoing efforts to strengthen cancer prevention policy and practice throughout Europe.

For further information about the Reimagining Cancer Research in Europe grants programme, please contact UICC at info@uicc.org.

Overview of the supported projects

FRESHAIR4Schools: Adaptation and implementation of a Dutch tobacco- and nicotine-FREe whole-ScHool pAckage to Strengthen prImaRy cancer prevention in Poland 

This project is a collaboration between Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum (Universiteit Leiden), the Netherlands and Centrum Medycznego Kształcenia Podyplomowego (CMKP), Poland. it will adapt and implement FRESHAIR4Schools, an evidence-based tobacco and vaping prevention programme, in secondary schools across three regions of Poland to address rising tobacco and vaping use among adolescents. By combining implementation science, youth engagement and scalable capacity building strategies, the project aims to generate practical tools and evidence to support the sustainable adoption and wider scale-up of school-based prevention programmes across Poland and Europe.

“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

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

This project is a collaboration between International Agency for Research on Cancer, France, World Against Cancer, Ukraine and Kings College London, United Kingdom. It will evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the HPV-FASTER approach in the conflict-affected Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, combining HPV self-sampling, HPV vaccination for HPV-negative women, and counselling to promote vaccination of adolescent girls. Through stakeholder engagement and co-designed implementation strategies, the project aims to increase uptake and completion of cervical cancer prevention services and generate evidence to support scale-up in fragile and resource-constrained settings.

“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

STop OVarian CAncer in Europe (STOPOVCA-Europe)

STOPOVCA-Europe is a collaboration between Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, the Netherlands, Catharina Hospital Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and UMF Iași, Romania

This project will support the implementation of opportunistic salpingectomy (OS), a promising ovarian cancer prevention strategy, by adapting and introducing a proven Dutch implementation approach in Romania while expanding its nationwide uptake in the Netherlands. Through stakeholder engagement, tailored implementation strategies and evaluation across multiple hospitals, the project aims to create a scalable model for wider adoption of OS across Europe and ultimately reduce the burden of ovarian cancer.

“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

Learn more about the funded projects