Joint Action on Personalised Cancer Medicine kicks off

LIH contributes to ambitious EU project

• Cancer
• Luxembourg Research Clinic – Fuerschungsklinik Lëtzebuerg
• Department of Medical Informatics

The European Joint Action on Personalised Cancer Medicine (JA PCM) was officially launched in January 2024, bringing together 29 European countries and over 140 partner organisations to advance personalised cancer care across Europe. Coordinated by Sciensano (the Belgian public health institute), the project aims to create a sustainable cross-border network to foster innovation, equity, and collaboration in personalised cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and tertiary prevention.

Personalised cancer medicine is transforming how cancer is prevented, diagnosed, treated, and monitored, tailored to each patient’s tumour profile, clinical history, and preferences. By addressing the entire patient pathway, the JA PCM moves beyond isolated interventions and offers a patient-centred continuum of care supported by the latest science and technology.

“We must facilitate the exchange of good practices and support the development of common frameworks to reduce inequalities in access to personalised cancer medicine across Europe. Innovation must not widen gaps; it must help close them. Belgium is proud to play a leading role in this initiative.” Frank Vandenbroucke, Belgian Minister of Public Health and Social Security, opening the kick-off meeting.

Marc Van den Bulcke, head of the Belgian Cancer centre (Sciensano), coordinator of JA PCM, added: “We fully recognise that prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up should be approached in a concerted way for optimal patient benefit. Through pilots and collaborative activities, the JA PCM will support the implementation of personalised cancer medicine across Europe, building bridges between research, healthcare systems, and patient needs.”

A key component of the JA PCM are the concrete pilot activities and use cases that will demonstrate how personalised cancer medicine can be applied in practice. In these pilots, seven major themes will be addressed:

1. pathway, access and implementation of risk-informed cancer prevention,
2. polygenic risk score application,
3. cancer genetic predisposition across the patient journey,
4. molecular tumour boards,
5. innovative shared risk treatment models with evidence generation,
6. liquid biopsy testing,
7. digital innovation for remote monitoring.

The pilots will be supported by transversal activities, such as External Quality Assessments for liquid biopsy; Education and Training, Ethical, Legal and Social Implications; Health Technology Assessment, data and access.

The Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), represented by the Department of Medical Informatics (DMI) and the Luxembourg Research Clinic (LRC), is actively contributing to JA PCM. LIH participates alongside key national stakeholders in cancer care in Luxembourg, including Centre François Baclesse, Centre Hospitalier du Nord, Centre Hospitalier Émile Mayrisch, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Fondation Émile Mayrisch/Croix-Rouge Luxembourgeoise, Hôpitaux Robert Schuman, PNED GIE, and the Laboratoire National de la Santé, with national coordination ensured by the National Cancer Institute.

Through its involvement, the LIH contributes scientific and translational expertise to the development of shared priorities and best practices in advanced diagnostics, tailored treatments, and coordinated cancer care, including the implementation and strengthening of Molecular Tumour Boards. This ensures that innovative, patient-centred approaches developed in Luxembourg are effectively integrated and shared across European health systems.

With its unprecedented scale, JA PCM will accelerate cross-border collaboration, strengthen European knowledge networks, form synergies with EU initiatives, and promote equitable access to personalised cancer medicine across Europe. Over the next four years, the initiative aims to create a lasting European framework for personalised oncology that is sustainable, measurable, and patient-centred.

This work is funded by the European Union (JA PCM – grant number 101233450). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or HaDEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.