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European cancer research requires renewed urgency

Nature Cancer volume 6, pages 1922–1924 (2025)Cite this article

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Cancer is causing a global health crisis, straining even wealthy nations with rising cases, costs and workforce limits. Europe lags in translating basic research discoveries into clinical applications. We must invest in prevention, fundamental research, clinical trials, biotech support, workforce and patient involvement to stay competitive.

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Acknowledgements

This commentary is supported by the board members of the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) and the European Academy of Cancer Sciences (EACS), who are (apart from the authors): for the EACS: K. Kärre, J. Yves Blay, F. Carneiro, F. de Lorenzo, A. Markham and E. Weiderpass; and for the EACR: Y. Samuels, C. Ambrogio, A. Bardelli, C. Caldas, A. Carracedo, C. Dive, N. Erez, E. Lianidou, N. López-Bigas, E. Oricchio, S. Postel-Vinay, M. Soengas, A. Trumpp and J. Westermarck. Where supporters of this commentary are identified as personnel of the International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization, the authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the decisions, policy or views of the International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. European Association of Cancer Research (EACR) https://www.eacr.org/

    René Bernards & Johanna A. Joyce

  2. The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

    René Bernards & Anton Berns

  3. European Academy of Cancer Sciences (EACS) https://www.europeancanceracademy.eu/

    Anton Berns & Michael Baumann

  4. Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Johanna A. Joyce

  5. German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany

    Michael Baumann

Authors
  1. René Bernards
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  2. Anton Berns
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  3. Johanna A. Joyce
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  4. Michael Baumann
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Correspondence to René Bernards.

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Bernards, R., Berns, A., Joyce, J.A. et al. European cancer research requires renewed urgency. Nat Cancer 6, 1922–1924 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-025-01062-6

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