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The SIOPE Strategic Plan is one of the deliv-
erables of the European Network for Cancer
research in Children and Adolescents (ENC-
CA), a network of excellence that was
run from 2011 to 2015 under the EU 7th
Framework Programme for research and in-
novation (FP7).
This plan was first elaborated by a dedicated
working group, the ENCCA Long-term Sus-
tainability (LTS) working group. Established
within the ENCCA project, this group is com-
posed of outstanding experts in paediatric
oncology: Andrea Biondi, Angelika Eggert,
Lars Hjorth, Jerzy Kowalczyk, Ruth Laden-
stein, Giorgio Perilongo, Rob Pieters, Kathy
Pritchard-Jones, Martin Schrappe, Richard
Sullivan and Gilles Vassal (working group
chair).
The first document has been presented, dis-
cussed, and refined through the contributions
of SIOPE Board members and partners from
the ENCCA project, the European Clinical Trial
Groups (ECTGs) and the National Paediatric
Haematology-Oncology Societies (NaPHOS) –
both parts of the European Clinical Research
Council for Paediatric and Adolescent Oncol-
ogy (CRC, formerly ECRC) – the ENCCA Par-
ent Patient Advocacy Committee (PPAC), and
the Europe Regional Committee of Childhood
Cancer International (CCI).
On September 18
th
and 19
th
, 2014, SIOPE
organized a conference in Brussels entitled
‘Joining efforts for a brighter future for chil-
dren and adolescents with cancer – The Euro-
pean roadmap to Horizon 2020’
, in order to en-
sure the sustainability on the long-term of the
results achieved in the framework of ENCCA.
On this occasion, approximately 160 partici-
pants from 31 countries – representing all
stakeholders (patients, survivors, parents,
academia, charities, industry, regulators, EU
policy-makers) – endorsed the SIOPE propos-
al and called for a European Cancer Plan for
Children and Adolescents.
The ENCCA Scientific Advisory Board (com-
posed of Peter Adamson, Ulrik Ringborg, Hol-
ger Schünemann) reviewed the proposal in
early 2015.
The pre-final draft was approved by the SI-
OPE General Assembly in October 2014, by
the ENCCA General Assembly in January 2015,
and the final version has been approved by
the SIOPE Board on May 20th, 2015.
The SIOPE Strategic Plan will be launched at
the 2015 European Cancer Congress in Vienna
in September 2015 and at the European Par-
liament during a special event of the Mem-
bers of the Parliament Against Cancer (MAC)
group in November 2015.
Preamble
5
A EUROPEAN CANCER PLAN FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
European Network for Cancer research
in Children and Adolescents
e
n
cc
a