Brussels, 18 November 2025
The European Union is taking a major step toward accelerating personalised cancer medicine with the launch of the SPARC project — Support of Personalised Medicine Approaches in Cancer. Funded under the EU4Health Programme (EU4H-2024-PJ-03-4), SPARC is a three-year initiative coordinated by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), bringing together leading cancer centres, universities, scientific organisations, and patient groups to advance precision oncology across Europe.
The project's official kick-off meeting will take place this Thursday and Friday, marking the beginning of a coordinated effort to scale personalised cancer medicine, support multidisciplinary care, and bridge persistent inequalities in access to advanced diagnostics and targeted therapies.
Despite important advances in genomics, molecular diagnostics, AI, and targeted therapies, implementation across Europe remains uneven. SPARC aims to close these gaps by focusing on cancers with the highest burden lung, breast, colorectal, pancreatic, melanoma, neuroblastoma, adrenocortical carcinoma, and multiple myeloma, with patient cohorts ranging from 23 to 100 participants across the pilots.
Over its three-year duration, SPARC will:
The SPARC consortium consists of 17 beneficiaries, representing a balanced and multidisciplinary network across Europe: 5 hospitals, 4 universities, 4 patient associations, 2 medical associations, 1 research centre, and 1 stakeholder group.
This composition enables SPARC to work across the full cancer pathway — from diagnosis and treatment to follow-up, patient involvement, and policymaking. Each partner contributes distinct expertise in genomics, molecular diagnostics, oncology, data science, ethics, health economics, policy, and patient advocacy, allowing for comprehensive pilots and high-impact outcomes.
The Joint Action, led by Sciensano, brings together a uniquely broad coalition: 29 participating countries, 145 partners (45 Competent Authorities and 100 Affiliated Entities), and 6 Associated Partners
Structured around the patient journey, the Joint Action includes work packages on communication, sustainability, diagnosis, treatment, liquid biopsy, education and training, legal and ethical frameworks, health technology assessment, and data governance.
Today's synergy discussions established shared priorities related to: liquid biopsy and NGS, MTB development, training and education, and joint communication and dissemination strategies. These areas will form the backbone of coordinated work between SPARC and the Joint Action.
Under UPM's leadership, SPARC will directly contribute to the objectives of Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, the Cancer Diagnostic and Treatment for All initiative, and the broader transition toward evidence-based, data-driven personalised cancer care.
The European Alliance for Personalised Medicine (EAPM) will coordinate all policy, dissemination, and stakeholder alignment activities, ensuring that SPARC's results are embedded into national and EU-level cancer strategies. Through its extensive policy reach, multi-stakeholder networks, and experience in building consensus, EAPM will translate scientific and clinical outputs into actionable policy recommendations, promoting sustainable implementation.
As SPARC begins its official launch this week, the project stands ready to shape a more equitable, innovative, and patient-centred future for cancer care across Europe.