1. DARWIN EU

• Focus of the project: A federated network providing the EMA with Real-World Evidence (RWE) on medicine safety and efficacy using standardized healthcare data (OMOP CDM) from across Europe.
• CancerWatch’s engagement: Ensures that cancer registry data is standardized and digitized to meet DARWIN EU’s high-quality technical requirements for regulatory use.
• Mutual benefits: DARWIN EU gets faster access to “fit-for-purpose” cancer data; CancerWatch aligns registries with regulatory-grade standards, increasing their impact on European health policy and medicine approval.

2. STRONG-AYA

• Focus of the project: Focuses on adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer. It aims to establish a European data infrastructure and a “Core Outcome Set” (COS) to improve research, clinical practice, and healthcare services specifically tailored to the unique developmental stage of young patients.
• CancerWatch’s engagement: CancerWatch can integrate the AYA-specific data standards and outcomes into its broader harmonization efforts for Population-Based Cancer Registries (PBCRs).
• Mutual benefits: STRONG-AYA benefits from CancerWatch’s infrastructure for long-term data sustainability and registry integration, while CancerWatch gains high-quality, age-specific indicators that are currently often overlooked in general registries.

3. TOGAS (Towards Gastric Cancer Screening Implementation)

• Focus of the project: Aims to provide missing evidence-based knowledge for implementing gastric cancer screening across the EU. It focuses on H. pylori screening, cost-effectiveness, and early detection of precancerous lesions.
• CancerWatch’s engagement: CancerWatch provides the “monitoring” backbone. By improving the timeliness and quality of registry data, it can help TOGAS track the real-world impact of new screening pilots on gastric cancer incidence and mortality.
• Mutual benefits: TOGAS relies on accurate registry data to validate its screening models; CancerWatch benefits from TOGAS’s focus on early-stage data and screening outcomes to refine its “prevention and early detection” data modules.

4. ELISAH (European Linkage of Initiative from Science to Action in Health)

• Focus of the project: Aims to reduce the breast cancer burden by acting on modifiable risk factors (pollution, nutrition, tobacco, alcohol). It focuses on the link between environmental determinants and cancer, with a strong emphasis on reducing health inequalities.
• CancerWatch’s engagement: CancerWatch facilitates the “Gap Analysis” by providing the population-based data needed to map breast cancer rates against environmental and lifestyle risk factors.
• Mutual benefits: ELISAH develops digital tools (like the BRCApp) that can feed patient-reported data back into registries; CancerWatch provides the historical and comparative data necessary for ELISAH to measure the success of its prevention interventions.

5. IDEA4RC (Intelligent Ecosystem for Rare Cancers)

• Focus of the project: Developing a specialized data ecosystem for rare cancers to overcome the challenges of small patient populations. It uses AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to extract structured data from clinical records.
• CancerWatch’s engagement: Rare cancer data is a priority for CancerWatch. The projects can collaborate on technical solutions for “GDPR-compliant” data sharing and the “FAIRification” (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) of data.
• Mutual benefits: IDEA4RC provides advanced AI tools for data extraction that CancerWatch can scale to other registries. CancerWatch offers the large-scale European Cancer Information System (ECIS) integration that allows IDEA4RC’s findings to reach national policymakers.
  

6. CANDLE

• Focus of CANDLE: Building an infrastructure of cancer data nodes.
• CancerWatch’s engagement: CancerWatch collaborates with CANDLE to ensure coherence and complementarity in data infrastructure efforts. This includes sharing methodologies, tools, and outputs that can integrate with CANDLE’s network of cancer data nodes.
• Mutual benefits:
  • CancerWatch gains access to structured cancer data networks that support its analyses and reporting.
  • CANDLE benefits from CancerWatch’s interim findings, policy-relevant insights, and innovative dissemination approaches, which can enhance the visibility and utility of CANDLE’s infrastructure.

7. ECHoS

• Focus of ECHoS: Creating a network of National Cancer Mission Hubs.
• CancerWatch’s engagement: CancerWatch aligns its dissemination and stakeholder engagement activities with ECHoS hubs. This includes co-organizing sessions, promoting cross-project events, and integrating project outputs into national hubs.
• Mutual benefits:
  • CancerWatch leverages ECHoS hubs to reach national stakeholders, including ministries and healthcare providers, ensuring local impact of its tools and findings.
  • ECHoS gains from CancerWatch’s innovative tools, interim results, and policy insights to support hub-level decision-making and knowledge sharing.

8. EUnetCCC

• Focus of EUnetCCC: Creating a network of Comprehensive Cancer Centres.
• CancerWatch’s engagement: CancerWatch works with EUnetCCC to co-promote outputs, participate in joint dissemination activities, and integrate findings relevant to comprehensive cancer care.
• Mutual benefits:
  • CancerWatch can test and showcase innovative methodologies within EUnetCCC centres and gather feedback from expert practitioners.
  • EUnetCCC gains insights from CancerWatch’s analyses, which can inform evidence-based improvements and policy-relevant recommendations across the network.
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9. UNCAN (Understanding Cancer)

• Focus of UNCAN: An initiative (Flagship 7 in the Beating Cancer Plan) aimed at understanding cancer through a centralized platform.
• CancerWatch’s engagement: CancerWatch JA will align with WP6 to ensure data interoperability with the UNCAN platform. It is part of a consortium for Mission calls led by VHIO and BCS.
• Mutual benefits: CancerWatch ensures its data is in scope for Mission calls (HORIZON-MISS-2024-CANCER-01-01), while UNCAN gains integrated ENCR data.

10. CanScreen-ECIS / EUCanScreen

• Focus of CanScreen-ECIS: Including insights from European cancer screening data into the European Cancer Information System (ECIS).
• CancerWatch’s engagement: CancerWatch seeks engagement with EUCanScreen partners to ensure alignment on the ECIS roadmap and will review data linkage opportunities between screening and registry data in WP6.
• Mutual benefits: CancerWatch benefits from harmonized indicators for complex screening data; EUCanScreen ensures its strategy for quality management is aimed for inclusion in ECIS.

11. QUANTUM

• Focus of QUANTUM: Developing a data quality and utility label for the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
• CancerWatch’s engagement: CancerWatch will evaluate and apply the QUANTUM label in WP5 and seek to align software processes for generic vs. cancer-specific data quality measures.
• Mutual benefits: QUANTUM’s labels are tested in a specialized domain; CancerWatch gains a standardized framework for data utility.

12. CCI4EU & JANE-2

• Focus of CCI4EU/JANE-2: Assessing Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructures (CCIs) and defining Networks of Expertise (NoE).
• CancerWatch’s engagement: Collaboration is established to strengthen Population-Based Cancer Registries (PBCRs) at CCIs. CancerWatch will discuss how PBCRs can contribute to assessing NoEs.
• Mutual benefits: CCI4EU strengthens local registry coverage; CancerWatch provides the data necessary to identify and address gaps in expertise networks.

13. TEHDAS2 & XpanDH

• Focus: Developing guidelines for cross-border health data use and the adoption of the European Health Data Exchange Format (EEHRxF).
• CancerWatch’s engagement: WP5 will collaborate with TEHDAS2 to integrate ENCR data into EHDS infrastructure and interact with XpanDH to apply exchange formats for secondary use.
• Mutual benefits: These projects establish the technical infrastructure, while CancerWatch provides the primary use case for cancer data registration and exchange.

14. ECPDC (European Cancer Patient Digital Centre)

• Focus of ECPDC: Providing digital information and resources directly to European citizens and patients.
• CancerWatch’s engagement: Establishing contacts to ensure insights from ENCR/ECIS data are used to inform patients and survivors.
• Mutual benefits: Patients gain access to population-based statistics; CancerWatch increases the societal impact and visibility of its data.