A European call for projects focusing on early palliative care

A European conference on innovative palliative care for cancer patients held in October 2024¹ showed the potential of these interventions, but also that they were often too late and lacked precision. A number of obstacles to better care were identified, including insufficient staff numbers and difficulties in retaining them, inappropriate transfers between care facilities, regional inequalities and the rising need for home care.

Or, it is necessary to provide this palliative care early on after cancer diagnosis, based on optimal information regarding the patient's wishes and effective communication between all the caregivers involved.

Innovative models

The aim of the call for projects HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-04 is to improve access to early and more precise palliative care. It aims to develop innovative models, centered on patients' needs and taking into account all possible care options. These models will need to draw on artificial intelligence and remote digital tools to empower patients and offer integrated care, matched with optimal predictions.

The proposed projects will need to develop models that anticipate patient preferences, clearly allocate caregiver roles and remove barriers such as insufficient or unequal access to care. They should test and validate these models in real-life situations through research and clinical trials, taking into account age, sex and gender differences. They will need to pay particular attention to staff training, role definition and adherence to protocols. Artificial intelligence and remote digital tools (explanatory videos, messaging, etc.) should enable real-time communication and anticipate care needs and available resources. These projects will also need to take into account recommendations for optimal staff orientation, assignment and retention². Finally, they should collaborate with EU4Health projects to create synergies and facilitate implementation. Successful proposals will be invited to join the European Mission Against Cancer's "Quality of Life" project group, and will be expected to include a budget for networking activities, participation in meetings and joint activities.

Other countries that may be included in the scheme include Canada, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Tunisia and Morocco.

This call for projects has an indicative total budget of €15 million, which would enable at least three projects to be funded (up to a maximum of €5 million per project). It is open from February 10, 2026 and the deadline for submission is September 15, 2026.

Find out more
about the Horizon Europe program:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2026-2027/wp-12-missions_horizon-2026-2027_en.pdf

View the dedicated webinar

1. Research and innovation - Innovative Palliative Care for People with Cancer Conference (https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/rtd/items/867483/#:~:text=Theconferencesh…)

2. Access to and dissemination of these recommendations will be provided by the future European Digital Center for Cancer Patients).

_{Published on 9/02/26}