Europe and its Member States urgently need a renewed effort in beating cancer with better prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. It is estimated that cancer will become the first cause of mortality in 2030; the number of cancer cases in Europe is constantly rising, and without strong action, it will increase by 25 % by 2035. It is evident that cancer is a huge threat for Europe’s citizens and health systems. By joining efforts, we must aim at prevention at all levels, to decrease the number of patients, to anticipate diagnosis, to improve patient’s treatment and quality of life, and to support survivors.

That has always been ACC’s mission: to bring technological and organisational innovation from basic research to clinical settings, by improving and standardising treatment, care and rehabilitation for all cancer patients. This mission is presently carried out through relevant national and international projects, which stem from an intense European networking activity within the Mission on Cancer and Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. Transversal themes that overarch all efforts are: improved understanding of risk factors, in particular genetic risk; collection and sharing of omic and other data (big data); international collaboration in research and innovation to generate evidence and inform health policies; creation of transnational networks to share expertise and infrastructures and expand European excellence in both scientific and clinical settings.