EORTC recognises patient involvement as a vital component of our clinical research in cancer aiming to increase people’s survival and quality of life. We have observed that patients and those affected by cancer have gradually become active participants and co-designers in the research process.

Bringing their perspectives to the development and implementation of clinical trials helps us significantly improve the quality of lay language documents and find a balance between academic knowledge and its understanding by patients.

At EORTC, we believe in the concept of meaningful patient involvement. For us it implies the following:

  • carrying out cancer research for patients together with patients,
  • improvement of the wide variation of patient involvement in research,
  • establishing long-term partnerships with patients as a step towards a more research-friendly environment, and
  • recognizing the importance of patients’ voice in cancer clinical research.
Patient involvement - Illustration
Training for patients - Illustration

Training for patients

EORTC offers training opportunities to enhance the patient involvement experience. The Patient Days sessions take place every two years for two days and are carried out in English.

Designed to inform and update  European patients, caregivers, and patient representatives on research, it’s a unique learning opportunity to unite with researchers and medical professionals.

Together they can share experiences and learn from one another in interactive sessions. This improves understanding of what really matters to patients and their family members for future research.

The 6th edition of Patient Days was held on 30 & 31 October 2024.

Learn more about EU projects

IMMUCAN

“Integrated Immunoprofiling of large adaptive Cancer patient cohorts”: patients are invited to participate in SPECTA and to be our patient partners and sample donors.

SISAQOL-IMI

“Setting International Standards of Patient-Reported Outcomes and Quality of Life Endpoints in Cancer Clinical Trials”: patient organization such as WECAN is part of the consortium and will contribute to the development of standards for the design, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of PRO data for cancer clinical trials.

HTx

“Next Generation Health Technology Assessment”: in collaboration with the European Proton Therapy Network, EORTC is conducting a case study using real-world data to validate the benefit of proton therapy in Head and Neck cancer. We will collaborate with patient organization Eurordis to assess impacts for patients.