EUnetCCC: building the European network of Comprehensive Cancer Centres
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Coordinated by the French National Cancer Institute (INCa), the EUnetCCC Joint Action is turning an ambition of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan into a tangible, lasting network accessible to all participating countries.
A strategic ambition for Europe
Cancer has become too complex for any one institution or country to address effectively in isolation over the long term. Excellence now depends on bringing together care, research, prevention, data, innovation and education, and organising these capabilities across regions and national borders.
EUnetCCC (European Network of Comprehensive Cancer Centres) addresses this challenge.
Launched under the EU4Health Programme, this Joint Action brings together national authorities, cancer centres and key European stakeholders around a shared goal: to enable everyone, wherever they live, to access high-quality cancer care supported by research and innovation.
The project aims to establish approximately 100 Comprehensive Cancer Centres (CCCs) recognised at European level by 2028, with at least one EUCCC in each participating country. It thereby contributes to the goal of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan: by 2030, 90% of eligible patients should have access to such a centre or to a network linked to one.
More than a label
EUnetCCC does more than bring together national and European certifications. It is building a common infrastructure to raise standards in cancer care across Europe. It connects the recognition of centres with quality improvement, capacity building and practical cooperation in areas where networking can make the greatest difference.
This approach has two inseparable aims:
- to reduce inequalities between regions, so that where people live no longer determines their access to the best care, research and innovation;
- to build a lasting European cancer community able to share knowledge, pool certain functions and develop new joint projects beyond the lifetime of the Joint Action.
€112 million | 31 countries | 234 organisations |
|---|---|---|
| total budget, including a €90 million contribution from the European Union | involved in building the network | mobilised across nine work packages |
From pilot to EUCCC: a comprehensive European pathway
EUnetCCC brings together several complementary mechanisms. Centres have different starting points and the pathway is not linear: each centre can engage in the way best suited to its level of development and progress towards full European recognition.
1. Test the model through pilot activities
Pilot centres and networks test the European model in different national contexts. They help assess standards, cooperation between institutions and the regional organisation of a CCC or cancer network.
2. Obtain designation by the Member State
Designation is a decision led by the national Competent Authority. It identifies the centres or consortia that meet the European definition of a Comprehensive Cancer Centre and that the country wishes to put forward within the EUnetCCC framework. This helps structure the national landscape while ensuring consistency across Europe.
3. Build the capacity of each partner
Teaming, peer exchange, training and tailored support help organisations strengthen functions that are still developing, including the integration of care and research, governance, data, prevention, innovation, human resources and regional cooperation.
4. Join the community and the INA
Organisations engaged through the pathways recognised by EUnetCCC can join the Interim Network Assembly (INA) as members. The Assembly provides a forum for representation, dialogue and collective work. Membership demonstrates a commitment to the network, but does not constitute designation or, in itself, recognition as an EUCCC.
5. Obtain certification from an accredited body
Certification provides an independent assessment of quality and of how effectively a centre’s activities are integrated. The EUCCC certification scheme will use accredited certification bodies to ensure a robust, comparable approach recognised across Europe. Centres already certified under certain recognised schemes, notably those of the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) or Deutsche Krebshilfe (DKH), may also obtain EUCCC recognition following national designation, while their certification remains valid.
6. Cooperate in key areas
Recognition is the starting point for closer cooperation across the network. EUCCCs are expected to develop high-value activities together in clinical trials, data and digital health, translational research, prevention, education, quality, complex care pathways, rare and paediatric cancers, and the reduction of inequalities.
EUCCC recognition rests on two pillars: designation by the Member State and a recognised certification that remains valid. INA membership brings the community together but does not replace either pillar.
France’s full engagement in the growing network
In October 2025, the French National Cancer Institute, acting as France’s Competent Authority, put forward four applications in the first wave of European designation:
- the University Hospital Groups of Assistance Publique–Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP);
- the NOVA healthcare cooperation group (GCS), bringing together the university hospitals of Bordeaux, Limoges and Poitiers;
- the HUGO healthcare cooperation group (GCS), bringing together the university hospitals of Brest, Rennes, Angers, Nantes, Orléans and Tours;
- the HOURAA healthcare cooperation group (GCS), bringing together Hospices Civils de Lyon and the university hospitals of Clermont-Ferrand, Saint-Étienne and Grenoble.
These applications were reviewed and approved at European level by the Designation and Admission Committee (DAC). They are among the 30 centres and consortia recognised in the first wave.
A second French wave in preparation
France’s participation is set to expand. Several new centres and consortia, reflecting the diversity of how cancer services are organised in France, are ready to join the second wave of European designation. Their participation will strengthen regional coverage, better connect hospital, academic and research functions, and enrich the European network with complementary models of cooperation.
The successful French applications will be announced following the European review. At the same time, French representation in the INA will grow: organisations involved through the different EUnetCCC pathways will be able to contribute more widely to the network’s interim governance and collective work.
Next step: certification by 2028
Designation opens a pathway; it does not complete the process. By 2028, designated French centres without a recognised certification will be able to pursue certification. In doing so, they can comply with European standards, and learn lessons from the pilot phases, capacity-building activities and support provided through the Joint Action.
This gradual progression – designation, participation in the network, continuous improvement and certification – will enable France to contribute fully to the European goal of 100 EUCCCs, while strengthening organisations across the country that can offer every patient the best possible continuum of prevention, care, research and innovation.
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