The Netherlands needs Europe to strengthen cancer research

Dutch research and healthcare organisations play an important role in EU-funded cancer research and innovation. As such, the Netherlands has a lot to offer Europe. At the same time, Europe is also of great importance to Dutch cancer prevention and control, according to research conducted by Nivel.

Europe important for Dutch cancer control

Participants in EU projects, the Dutch Federation of Cancer Patient Organisations and other experts emphasise the importance of European collaboration in strengthening cancer prevention and control in the Netherlands. With Europe's Beating Cancer Plan and the EU Mission on Cancer, the EU is strongly committed to cancer research and innovation, and is making considerable resources available for this purpose. This increases the research opportunities substantially. European collaboration also facilitates research into rare cancers (including childhood cancers), for which the number of patients in the Netherlands is too small. It also allows research to be carried out more quickly, making results available sooner for healthcare in the Netherlands.

Implementation deserves more attention

The implementation of results from EU projects in the Netherlands leaves room for improvement. Due to the multitude of EU research results, actors and stakeholders in the Netherlands lack overview. In addition, it is not always clear who is responsible for the implementation of certain results or outcomes. Structural consultation between government, research and the healthcare sector is necessary to ensure that the Netherlands benefits optimally from participation in EU projects.

Want to know more?

Read the main findings of the study in the English-language short report.

About the study

At the request of the Netherlands Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, Nivel examined how Dutch partners experienced their participation in EU projects in the field of cancer. To this end, an online questionnaire was completed by 43 principal investigators/contact persons from Dutch organisations that have participated in EU-funded projects in the field of cancer in recent years. In addition, several individuals from organisations that are or were involved in other ways in EU programming of cancer research and innovation were interviewed.