Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention (EPICAN)

EPICAN is a translational cancer population sciences group at the Luxembourg Institute of Health combining epidemiology, real-world evidence, clinical quality evaluation, and cancer data science to improve prevention, patient care, healthcare systems, and evidence-based cancer policies.

The group develops innovative approaches in cancer surveillance, interoperability, data linkage, implementation science, and precision population oncology through multidisciplinary collaborations with clinicians, patients, researchers, and policymakers.

The group contributes to the scientific and operational management of Luxembourg’s National Cancer Registry as part of its broader mission to strengthen cancer surveillance, translational research, and data-driven healthcare innovation.

Research areas

• Cancer Epidemiology & Prevention: Risk factors, inequalities, prevention, early detection.
• Clinical Quality of Care & Outcomes Research: Real-world evaluation of care pathways, treatment patterns, outcomes, and healthcare performance.
• Cancer Data Science & Interoperability: Data linkage, OMOP/EHDS, interoperability, AI-assisted methodologies, real-world evidence.
• Translational & Implementation Sciences: Transforming evidence into clinical practice, healthcare improvement, and policy impact.
• Precision Population Oncology & Patient-Centred Research: Patient pathways, survivorship, biomarkers, quality of life, patient partnership.

Infrastructure & data

EPICAN contributes to the scientific and operational management of Luxembourg’s National Cancer Registry and develops interoperable population-based data infrastructures supporting high-quality cancer surveillance, translational research, and healthcare evaluation.

Impact

EPICAN supports clinicians, healthcare institutions, patients, and policymakers through:

• population-based evidence generation,
• healthcare quality assessment,
• methodological innovation,
• epidemiological reporting,
• and implementation of data-driven cancer control strategies.

Highlighted projects

• Breast cancer quality-of-care evaluation
• Return-to-work linkage study
• EHDS interoperability initiatives
• RELIANCE Breast Cancer
• Cancer indicators and surveillance reports
• CancerWatch

Collaboration & events

Examples:

• Lecture Series
• Workshops

Team

• Team leader: Claudine Backes
• Epidemiologist: Allini Mafra Da Costa, Nina Tchuem
• Research assistant: Zidane Ngandajon
• Data manager & analysts: Julien Jacobs; Thérèse Baurith; Juline Pelé, Ibrahima Niang, Bruno Lima
• Scientist: Jason Settels
• European project and public affair officers: Max Xhauflair

Team leader

Claudine
Backes

Contact

Job vacancies