European Cancer Organisation

The European Cancer Organisation is a Brussels-based not-for-profit federation representing organizations and stakeholders involved in cancer across Europe. Its work is focused on improving cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, research, education, and health policy through cooperation among professional societies and patient representatives. Rather than operating as a commercial healthcare provider or pharmaceutical company, the organization functions as a convening, advocacy, and policy platform for the European cancer community. The organization developed from the multidisciplinary movement in European oncology that emerged in the early 1980s. At that time, cancer care was increasingly understood as a team-based activity requiring cooperation among different medical and scientific disciplines. Six European professional societies—ESMO, ESTRO, ESSO, EACR, EONS, and SIOPE—legally established the Federation of European Cancer Societies, or FECS, in 1981. FECS supported collaboration in research, treatment, education, and care, including through the ECCO conference series, initially known as the European Conference on Clinical Oncology and later as the European Cancer Conference. Following consultations and organizational reflection in 2006 and 2007, FECS was reshaped into a broader and more policy-oriented body. The European Cancer Organisation was formally launched at the European Cancer Conference in Barcelona in September 2007. The reconstituted organization retained the multidisciplinary principle of its predecessor while placing greater emphasis on advocacy, patient needs, coordinated European policy, and speaking collectively for the cancer community. The organization describes itself as a federation of 41 member societies, together with a European Patient Advisory Committee comprising 21 members. Its activities include convening oncology professionals and patients, developing shared policy positions, advocating for improvements in cancer outcomes, supporting cross-border cooperation, and communicating the priorities of the European cancer community to policymakers and other institutions. It also organizes the annual European Cancer Summit, which provides a forum for discussion of cancer policy, health-system challenges, prevention, treatment, research, and patient experience. Governance is provided through a Board of Directors and an Executive Committee. The organization maintains an office in Brussels and operates with a chief executive and a team of staff and consultants. Csaba Dégi served as President for the 2024–2025 term. In 2023, the organization founded the European Cancer Community Foundation. The foundation was launched at the European Parliament in June 2023, and its first grants were awarded during the European Cancer Summit in November 2023. By statute, the chair of the foundation is the past president of the European Cancer Organisation. The European Cancer Organisation’s institutional role is therefore distinct from that of a cancer hospital, research institute, or disease-specific charity. Its principal offering is collective representation and coordination: bringing together professional societies and patients, translating shared concerns into policy advocacy, and promoting a more integrated approach to cancer care throughout Europe.

The European Cancer Organisation has its roots in the development of multidisciplinary cancer care in Europe during the early 1980s. Oncology leaders and professional societies increasingly argued that effective cancer treatment could not be delivered by isolated specialties. Research, surgery, radiotherapy, medical oncology, nursing, pediatric oncology, pathology, patient support, and related fields needed to work together around the needs of the individual patient. This approach was relatively novel at the time but later became widely regarded as a best-practice model for cancer care. To strengthen cooperation among the major European actors in cancer research, treatment, education, and care, six professional societies—ESMO, ESTRO, ESSO, EACR, EONS, and SIOPE—legally established the Federation of European Cancer Societies in 1981. The federation promoted awareness of patient needs, encouraged policy and professional development, and sought to support the application of European cancer research. One of its important collaborative activities was a multidisciplinary conference known as ECCO, originally the European Conference on Clinical Oncology and later the European Cancer Conference. Over time, the federation’s stakeholders concluded that European cancer cooperation required a more dynamic institutional structure and a stronger collective policy voice. Consultations and organizational reflection took place in 2006 and 2007. These discussions led to the transformation of FECS into the European Cancer Organisation. The new organization was officially announced and launched at the European Cancer Conference in Barcelona in September 2007. The change was more than a name revision. The European Cancer Organisation broadened the federation’s public and policy role while continuing its commitment to multidisciplinary oncology. Its mission came to include convening cancer professionals and patients, building agreement on policy priorities, advocating for positive change, and representing the European cancer community in wider debates about health systems and cancer outcomes. The organization’s membership model brought together European cancer societies, while patient participation was incorporated through a European Patient Advisory Committee. The organization’s continuing activities include policy advocacy, professional and patient engagement, and the annual European Cancer Summit. The summit serves as a recurring platform for discussions on cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, research, survivorship, inequalities, and the practical implementation of better cancer policy across Europe. In 2023, the European Cancer Organisation expanded its institutional activity by founding the European Cancer Community Foundation. The foundation was launched at the European Parliament in June 2023, and its first grants were awarded at the European Cancer Summit in November of the same year. Its statutory relationship with the organization is reflected in the provision that the foundation’s chair is the past president of the European Cancer Organisation. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and an Executive Committee and maintains its office in Brussels. It is supported by a chief executive, staff, and consultants. In the 2024–2025 term, Csaba Dégi served as president. The organization remains a European-level umbrella and advocacy body rather than a commercial healthcare brand, with its influence derived from its member societies, patient engagement, policy work, and ability to convene diverse parts of the cancer community.

• 2023

  European Cancer Community Foundation founded

  [1]European Cancer Organisationen.wikipedia.org

  The organization founded a new foundation, which was launched at the European Parliament in June 2023.

• 2023

  First foundation grants awarded

  [1]European Cancer Organisationen.wikipedia.org

  The European Cancer Community Foundation awarded its first grants during the European Cancer Summit in November 2023.

• 2007

  European Cancer Organisation launched

  [1]European Cancer Organisationen.wikipedia.org

  Following consultations conducted in 2006 and 2007, FECS was transformed into the European Cancer Organisation, formally launched at the European Cancer Conference in Barcelona in September 2007.

• 1981

  Federation of European Cancer Societies established

  [1]European Cancer Organisationen.wikipedia.org

  Six professional societies—ESMO, ESTRO, ESSO, EACR, EONS, and SIOPE—legally founded FECS to promote multidisciplinary cooperation in European cancer research, treatment, education, and care.

A non-profit European umbrella organization and policy voice for oncology professionals, cancer societies, and patients, with an emphasis on multidisciplinary cooperation and coordinated cancer-system improvement.

• Conference and policy forum

  European Cancer Summit

  The annual European Cancer Summit is the organization’s principal recurring convening platform. It brings together oncology professionals, patient representatives, policymakers, and other cancer stakeholders to discuss European priorities in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, research, care delivery, survivorship, and cancer policy. The summit also provides a setting for presenting initiatives and, in 2023, for awarding the first grants of the European Cancer Community Foundation.

• Grant-making foundation · 2023

  European Cancer Community Foundation

  Founded by the European Cancer Organisation in 2023, the foundation extends the organization’s community and impact work through grant-making. It was launched at the European Parliament in June 2023 and awarded its first grants during the European Cancer Summit in November 2023. Its statutory governance is linked to the organization through the provision that its chair is the past president of the European Cancer Organisation.

• 2023

  Create the European Cancer Community FoundationOther

  Background

  The organization sought to establish a foundation connected to the wider European cancer community.

  Action taken

  The European Cancer Organisation founded the European Cancer Community Foundation and launched it at the European Parliament in June 2023.

  Aftermath

  The foundation awarded its first grants during the European Cancer Summit in November 2023. Its chair is, by statute, the past president of the European Cancer Organisation.

  Source

• 2007

  Transform FECS into the European Cancer OrganisationStrategy

  Background

  Consultations in 2006 and 2007 indicated a need for a more dynamic European cancer body with a stronger role in policy, advocacy, and representation.

  Action taken

  The Federation of European Cancer Societies was reorganized and relaunched under the name European Cancer Organisation at the European Cancer Conference in Barcelona in September 2007.

  Aftermath

  The organization continued FECS’s multidisciplinary foundation while broadening its emphasis on patient participation, policy coordination, and collective advocacy.

  Source

1. 1European Cancer Organisationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2European Cancer Organisation official websiteeuropeancancer.org