ECCO – the European CanCer Organisation

Through its 24 Member Societies – representing over 60 000 professionals – ECCO is the only multidisciplinary organisation that connects and responds to all stakeholders in oncology Europe-wide.

ECCO exists to provide a cohesive platform for European cancer societies and organisations to work together to improve cancer patient outcomes and to be the unified voice of the European cancer professionals community when addressing common policy issues.

ECCO’s core values
The essential and enduring values that guide ECCO in all of its activities are:

• Patient Centricity – ECCO puts cancer patients at the centre of its concerns and activities and strives to do the very best for them
• Commitment to Science – ECCO’s policies reflect the very latest scientific knowledge and are independent of any vested interests
• Cohesiveness –  ECCO believes that combining the efforts of its members goes further towards achieving common goals than the sum of its members’ individual efforts
• Inclusiveness – ECCO seeks to include all non-profit organisations that share its vision and values
• Equality and Fairness – All ECCO members have a voice in the organisation and ECCO strives to transcend the interests of any one member
• Openness and Transparency – ECCO is committed to be transparent in and accountable for all it does

ECCO Congresses and Conferences

ECCO organises the largest multidisciplinary Cancer Congress in Europe. This congress is held jointly with its founding members (EACR, EONS, ESMO, ESSO, ESTRO, and SIOPE), bringing together more than 18 000 stakeholders in oncology.

The congress offers a large platform for discussion, presentation of latest practice-changing data, education and tremendous networking opportunities for all oncologists, scientists, nurses, patient advocates and policymakers. 

In order to facilitate the education and dissemination of oncology, ECCO provides a not-for-profit professional congress organiser service to its member societies, organising meetings from 500 to    5 000 participants.

ECCO Oncopolicy

ECCO is uniquely positioned to provide the voice of consensus of European oncology professionals and engage with policymakers to ensure that cancer stays at the top of the EU health and research agenda.

Providing a rallying point for Europe’s community of oncology professionals, ECCO’s Public Affairs arm engages in oncopolicy: planned and sustained interaction with EU policymakers as well as third-party stakeholders to anticipate and proactively shape EU cancer policy. This includes developing innovative strategies to support high-level multidisciplinary care throughout Europe, and striving for sustainable, strategic, evidence-based planning of European cancer research.

Through initiatives such as its annual Oncopolicy Forum, ECCO harnesses the expertise and experience of the entire oncology community in areas such as personalised medicine and health inequalities, to address questions of common concern, looking collectively for answers that will help achieve the best possible outcome for cancer patients through informed policy making.

ECCO Patient Advocacy

ECCO is committed to engaging cancer patient advocates in its mission to uphold the right of all European cancer patients to the best possible treatment and care.

To emphasise ECCO’s commitment, the Patient Advisory Committee (PAC) was established providing European patient advocacy organisations with a solid platform to express their expectations in solidarity with the professional organisations. The PAC afford ECCO direct insight into the issues and challenges faced by cancer patients and provides the patient perspective on initiatives and projects that foster ECCO’s mission in all areas of activity, including multidisciplinary education, oncopolicy  and quality assurance.

ECCO Education

ECCO’s multidisciplinary educational initiatives are specifically tailored to meet the scientific, educational, and professional needs of oncology specialists.

Of European focus and scope, these activities add value to the educational portfolio of ECCO’s member activities on the basis of the subsidiarity principle. Currently, there is a variety of educational formats including courses, fellowships and e-learning. Among these, the Elective Courses in Oncology for Medical Students, the Workshops on Methods in Clinical Cancer Research and Oncovideos are providing the European cancer community with further training opportunities at various career stages.

ECCO Publications

ECCO disseminates scientific advancement, knowledge and insight through its official publication the European Journal of Cancer (EJC).

ECCO also publishes EJC News and Pick of the Papers on its website and supports the open access oncology journal ecancermedicalscience.com – of which ECCO is founding partner.