European Cancer Organisation
Encyclopedia
The European CanCer Organisation (ECCO) represents the interests of over 50,000 oncology professionals and promotes the multidisciplinarity of the field. The organisation connects the European cancer community by leveraging knowledge, promoting education and building awareness. ECCO also plays an important role in engaging with policymakers to promote the interests of cancer patients, research as well all other members of the oncocommunity. The organisation is renowned for its prestigious biennial series of multidisciplinary congresses.
It was consequently decided to bring together major players in cancer research, treatment, and care in order to create awareness of patients’ wishes and needs, encourage progressive thinking in cancer policy, education, and training, and continue to promote European cancer research and its application through the organisation of a multidisciplinary conference called ECCO -the European Conference on Clinical Oncology (later renamed ECCO-the European Cancer Conference).
To strengthen and further develop these ideas six professional societies, ESMO, ESTRO, ESSO, EACR, EONS, SIOPE legally founded FECS (Federation of European Cancer Societies).
After a period of reflection in 2006 and 2007, during which many players in oncology were consulted, FECS was transformed into a new dynamic entity: ECCO - the European CanCer Organisation.This was officially announced at the European Cancer Conference in Barcelona in September 2007, where the organisation was launched under its new name.
Since then, ECCO has been building a solid reputation by continuously expanding its outreach and education through its renowned and prestigious biennial series of congresses. The organisation also provides educational programmes such as the ECCO e-Learning as well as an online patient information section driven by dedicated focus groups in the form of officially appointed committees.
• Uphold the right of all European cancer patients to have access to the best possible treatment and care
• Promote interaction between all organisations involved in cancer research, education, treatment and care at European level.
• Provide the unifying voice of European societies representing professionals in oncology and proactively engage with policy makers in driving oncopolicy in Europe.
ECCO aims to raise awareness and improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care of cancer patients. In order to fulfill this aim, the cancer community’s professionals gather at the premier European multidisciplinary oncology congress, organised by ECCO .
Since the idea of a multidisciplinary approach was developed some 30 years ago 15 editions of the European Cancer Conference have taken place. With multidisciplinary thinking becoming increasingly more popular, the Congress has matured over time to attract a little over 10,000 participants.
In 2009 it was relaunched as the 15th ECCO – 34th ESMO Multidisciplinary Congress. The title was further developed to The European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress in partnership with ECCO, ESMO, ESTRO, ESSO, EACR, EONS and SIOPE in 2011.
Currently, there is a variety of educational formats including courses, fellowships and e-learning aiming at providing the European cancer community with further opportunities for professional growth and training. These encompass elective courses in oncology, workshops on clinical trials, and Oncovideos.
With the purpose of encouraging medical students to specialise in an oncology related discipline, ECCO is organising two elective courses in oncology for medical students every year in August. The programme incorporates both theoretical and practical training from experienced teachers in the form of plenary sessions, case study presentations, daily special visits to various oncology departments and group course projects.
A workshop entitled “Methods in Clinical Cancer Research” is held in the small Swiss town of Flims each year in June in partnership with the AACR, EORTC, and ESMO. The purpose of the workshop is to provide the necessary tools required to learn the essentials of clinical trial design, in hope to develop a team of well-trained researchers.
The ECCO Public Affairs department represents its 24 Member Organisations at EU level on wider policy issues and is the voice of consensus of European oncology professionals as the only multidisciplinary and multiprofessional organisation of-its-kind. Through (1) intelligence-gathering, (2) analysis, (3) strategic planning and (4) advocacy, ECCO liaises with the oncology community and policy-makers in matters related to EU cancer health and research policy.
The department works closely with the ECCO Policy Committee (PLC), a multidisciplinary group of professionals from the European cancer community, to help set its policy priorities in coordination with the ECCO Board.
The Public Affairs department also provides the Secretariat for the European Academy of Cancer Sciences, a body of expert oncology scientists and clinicians. Created in 2009, it is an independent body and aims to provide scientific advice on cancer policies at EU and national level.
The organisation is also one of the four founding members of an online open access cancer journal initiated by the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, ecancermedicalscience, where it acts as the multimedia, scientific, and educational partner.
Furthermore, ECCO is involved in another online project, namely the FP7-funded European Commission project, eurocancercoms, that seeks to integrate cancer information using cutting edge technology to cater a unique platform for providing cancer intelligence to the public, patients and oncology professionals.
Background
In the early 1980s, a few European visionaries working in oncology laid the grounds of multidisciplinarity in cancer care, entailing that tackling cancer was a team effort that required a coordinated approach. It was a relatively new concept at the time, but 30 years later, multidisciplinarity is viewed as the best approach cancer treatment.It was consequently decided to bring together major players in cancer research, treatment, and care in order to create awareness of patients’ wishes and needs, encourage progressive thinking in cancer policy, education, and training, and continue to promote European cancer research and its application through the organisation of a multidisciplinary conference called ECCO -the European Conference on Clinical Oncology (later renamed ECCO-the European Cancer Conference).
To strengthen and further develop these ideas six professional societies, ESMO, ESTRO, ESSO, EACR, EONS, SIOPE legally founded FECS (Federation of European Cancer Societies).
After a period of reflection in 2006 and 2007, during which many players in oncology were consulted, FECS was transformed into a new dynamic entity: ECCO - the European CanCer Organisation.This was officially announced at the European Cancer Conference in Barcelona in September 2007, where the organisation was launched under its new name.
Since then, ECCO has been building a solid reputation by continuously expanding its outreach and education through its renowned and prestigious biennial series of congresses. The organisation also provides educational programmes such as the ECCO e-Learning as well as an online patient information section driven by dedicated focus groups in the form of officially appointed committees.
Mission Statement
As a non-profit organisation, ECCO is devoted to achieve its charitable mission as outlined below:• Uphold the right of all European cancer patients to have access to the best possible treatment and care
• Promote interaction between all organisations involved in cancer research, education, treatment and care at European level.
• Provide the unifying voice of European societies representing professionals in oncology and proactively engage with policy makers in driving oncopolicy in Europe.
ECCO aims to raise awareness and improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care of cancer patients. In order to fulfill this aim, the cancer community’s professionals gather at the premier European multidisciplinary oncology congress, organised by ECCO .
Conferences
In the uneven years, on a biennial basis, ECCO organises, on behalf of its six founding member societies, a Multidisciplinary European Cancer Congress including a trade exhibition. The purpose of these congresses is to provide true multidisciplinary education opportunities to oncology healthcare professionals and provide a unique platform of multidisciplinary debate improving patient care throughout the EU. The congress programme caters to all large tumour types and medical sub disciplines. All sessions are designed to encourage and advocate a multidisciplinary approach, in parallel they will also provide interaction, networking and debate opportunities with EU policy makers as well as patient advocacy groups.Since the idea of a multidisciplinary approach was developed some 30 years ago 15 editions of the European Cancer Conference have taken place. With multidisciplinary thinking becoming increasingly more popular, the Congress has matured over time to attract a little over 10,000 participants.
In 2009 it was relaunched as the 15th ECCO – 34th ESMO Multidisciplinary Congress. The title was further developed to The European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress in partnership with ECCO, ESMO, ESTRO, ESSO, EACR, EONS and SIOPE in 2011.
| Year | Venue | Number of participants |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Lisbon Lisbon Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban... |
9,033 |
| 2003 | Copenhagen Copenhagen Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region... |
10,494 |
| 2005 | Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... |
11,448 |
| 2007 | Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of... |
13,212 |
| 2009 | Berlin Berlin Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union... |
14,918 |
| 2011 | Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area... |
15,931 |
Education
ECCO's Education Programme consists of educational initiatives of multidisciplinary appeal that have been specifically tailored to meet the scientific, educational, and professional needs of oncology specialists.Currently, there is a variety of educational formats including courses, fellowships and e-learning aiming at providing the European cancer community with further opportunities for professional growth and training. These encompass elective courses in oncology, workshops on clinical trials, and Oncovideos.
With the purpose of encouraging medical students to specialise in an oncology related discipline, ECCO is organising two elective courses in oncology for medical students every year in August. The programme incorporates both theoretical and practical training from experienced teachers in the form of plenary sessions, case study presentations, daily special visits to various oncology departments and group course projects.
A workshop entitled “Methods in Clinical Cancer Research” is held in the small Swiss town of Flims each year in June in partnership with the AACR, EORTC, and ESMO. The purpose of the workshop is to provide the necessary tools required to learn the essentials of clinical trial design, in hope to develop a team of well-trained researchers.
Oncovideos
Oncovideos is an EU-funded project, where ECCO acts as the coordinating body. The project consists of an online library of 24 videos demonstrating standard procedures relating to various oncology disciplines. The procedures were filmed at 18 different cancer teaching partner institutions, and they provide the core content of the video sessions. Special features enabling the users to watch, listen, read, download, and provide feedback, are included. The purpose of the project is to assist in the delivery of continuing medical education to health professionals wanting to develop and acquire practical vocational skills in oncology.Public Affairs
Since 2008, ECCO is engaged in EU policy and advocacy through the creation of its Public Affairs department.The ECCO Public Affairs department represents its 24 Member Organisations at EU level on wider policy issues and is the voice of consensus of European oncology professionals as the only multidisciplinary and multiprofessional organisation of-its-kind. Through (1) intelligence-gathering, (2) analysis, (3) strategic planning and (4) advocacy, ECCO liaises with the oncology community and policy-makers in matters related to EU cancer health and research policy.
The department works closely with the ECCO Policy Committee (PLC), a multidisciplinary group of professionals from the European cancer community, to help set its policy priorities in coordination with the ECCO Board.
The Public Affairs department also provides the Secretariat for the European Academy of Cancer Sciences, a body of expert oncology scientists and clinicians. Created in 2009, it is an independent body and aims to provide scientific advice on cancer policies at EU and national level.
Publications
ECCO is the official partner of the monthly scientific journal, namely the European Journal of Cancer (EJC). It is an international comprehensive journal containing news and experimental oncology, clinical oncology, editorial comments, translational oncology, review articles, and original research.The organisation is also one of the four founding members of an online open access cancer journal initiated by the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, ecancermedicalscience, where it acts as the multimedia, scientific, and educational partner.
Furthermore, ECCO is involved in another online project, namely the FP7-funded European Commission project, eurocancercoms, that seeks to integrate cancer information using cutting edge technology to cater a unique platform for providing cancer intelligence to the public, patients and oncology professionals.