EU Project CANDLE starts building National Cancer Data Nodes

The EU-funded project CANDLE – National CAncer data Node DeveLopErs – officially kicked off on 1st of June 2025, launching its three-year mission to build a robust cancer research infrastructure across EU Member States. This project is coordinated by Health-RI and with a consortium of 40 partners from 20 European countries. CANDLE will support Member States in setting up National Cancer Data Nodes which will be able to manage and share cancer data nationally and across borders, connecting different national actors. 

Euro-BioImaging ERIC will assist in the design of national nodes, support their user communities, develop a network resource kit, and provide guidance on best practices for data use. We will work closely with the Euro-BioImaging Radiology and Medical Imaging Valencia Node in Valencia, the European Research Infrastructure Consortiums (ERICs) in Life Sciences and the Finnish National Cancer Center (FICAN) to support the development  of National Cancer Data nodes in Europe. CANDLE is a continuation of our commitment to support the EU Mission on Cancer as we started through over  key initiatives like canSERV, EOSC4Cancer and EUCAIM which complement our mission in enabling cutting-edge research, open access to advanced imaging technologies, data services, and collaborative research infrastructure, and fosters the development of AI tools for improved diagnosis and treatment. 

The National Cancer Data Nodes implemented in CANDLE will closely link to other European cancer data projects as recommended in the UNCAN blueprint: 1) the UNCAN.eu platform, UNCAN-CONNECT, a federated cancer data infrastructure being developed under the upcoming EU project , and 2) the European Cancer Patient Digital Centre (ECPDC). 

Driving Integration Across Europe

CANDLE will strategically support the European Health Data Space (EHDS) by creating a federated network of national cancer data nodes, acting as disease-specific EHDS demonstrators. This initiative also implements the EU Mission on Cancer and Europe's Beating Cancer Plan nationally. The CANDLE Consortium, including Euro-BioImaging, will ensure the adoption of best practices in data sharing, enhance data access maturity, and foster cross-domain collaboration, directly contributing to EHDS goals.