Understanding the effects of environmental exposure on the risk of paediatric, adolescent and young adult cancers

The EU funding opportunity titled HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-02 is part of the Horizon Europe program, aiming to enhance the understanding of how environmental exposures contribute to cancer risks among children, adolescents, and young adults. This grant is a Research and Innovation Action, specifically targeting large-scale epidemiological studies to identify environmental risk factors affecting these age groups. The call is open for submissions from May 6, 2025, with a closing date of September 16, 2025.

Eligible applicants include universities, research institutes, and other research-focused organizations based in EU Member States and associated countries. Proposals should ideally include multidisciplinary teams and collaboration with cancer registries and public health research entities. The project scope includes health sectors focusing on cancer epidemiology and environmental health, emphasizing data science, artificial intelligence, and omics technologies.

The financial structure encompasses a total budget of approximately €30.45 million, allocated among several topics, with individual grants expected to range from €6 million to €7 million. The application process is single-stage, requiring relevant proposals to demonstrate robust scientific evidence and methodologies. Success rates are estimated between 10% and 39%, typical for Horizon Europe projects.

Proposals should focus on innovative strategies to analyze how environmental factors interact with genetic, epigenetic, and other determinants that influence cancer onset and progression. They should leverage existing datasets, integrate new data types, and employ advanced analytical tools. Collaboration with other EU initiatives, including health data platforms and relevant projects under the Cancer Mission, is encouraged for optimizing data sharing and ensuring the interoperability of research outputs.

Successful projects are expected to contribute to the UNCAN.eu research platform and provide significant insights into improving cancer prevention strategies for younger populations. The overall aim is to reduce cancer incidences and improve health outcomes in targeted age groups by the year 2030.

This is a comprehensive description of the EU funding opportunity HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-02, titled "Understanding the effects of environmental exposure on the risk of paediatric, adolescent and young adult cancers." This call falls under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program and specifically supports the implementation of the Cancer Mission. It is a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) with a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG] Model Grant Agreement (MGA).

The call is currently open for submission with a single-stage deadline model. The opening date was May 6, 2025, and the deadline for submissions is September 16, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of projects funded under this topic include:

Advancing the understanding of how environmental, genetic, epigenetic, omics, and other factors interact in determining the onset and development of cancers in children, adolescents, and young adults, and how they impact health outcomes in young cancer patients.

Providing policymakers and public health authorities with scientific evidence to improve prevention strategies aimed at minimising the impacts of environmental factors on the development and progression of paediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancers.

Supporting and contributing to the future UNCAN.eu research data platform by ensuring interoperability of data, new digital tools, and models.

The scope of this funding opportunity is aligned with the Cancer Mission objectives, focusing on improving the understanding of the impact of environmental exposures, including their interaction with other relevant factors, on cancer onset, progression, and other health outcomes along the cancer patient journey. The primary age group of interest is children, adolescents, and young adults (less than 40 years of age at first cancer diagnosis).

Applicants are encouraged to leverage technological advancements to collect, combine, and analyse large datasets of diverse types, enabling the design of epidemiological studies that elucidate the mechanistic contribution of environmental factors in combination with other individual and contextual factors. The call emphasizes innovative and data-intensive approaches for identifying time windows of susceptibility and robust biomarkers of cumulative environmental exposure.

Proposals may involve the creation of large cohorts by pooling and integrating existing retrospective studies in areas such as clinical research, exposome research, and cancer registries. This may be complemented with the new collection of other relevant data where needed, such as other omics data, digital pathology, behavioural and socio-economic data, and clinical records. Sex and gender differences should be duly considered. The use of causal interference, computational modelling, and/or artificial intelligence tools is encouraged for the analysis and management of big, complex, and heterogeneous data sets. All datasets produced should be described with metadata records in the EU dataset catalogue of the future European Health Data Space, while all tools and models should follow the principles of open science and be made available through the future UNCAN.eu platform.

Applicants should address several of the following activities:

Identify, validate, and document different types (and/or combinations) of biomarkers for the development of robust quantitative measures of the effects of cumulative environmental exposures associated with cancer onset.

Elaborate and test cost-effective approaches for measuring biomarkers of cumulative environmental exposure in large paediatric, adolescent, and young adult populations, also by applying new analytical tools and novel methods of analysis.

Identify individual signatures (e.g., based on genetic, epigenetic, multi-omic characteristics) and time windows conferring susceptibility to environmental hazards associated with cancer onset and progression in children, adolescents, and young adults at different stages of the life course.

Identify clinical states, lifestyle, and socio-economic factors and circumstances that increase the risk of adverse health outcomes associated with exposure to environmental hazards in different time windows in young cancer patients.

Develop new tools and methods to combine and analyse multimodal data, including the application of novel data-intensive methods of analysis, while ensuring interoperability with the future UNCAN.eu research platform and taking advantage of current European research infrastructures.

Applicants are encouraged to take advantage of data and experience gained under current large-scale initiatives such as the European Human Exposome Network (EHEN), the European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC), the clusters of projects under the environment, climate and health research portfolio, and the projects under the 'Understanding' project cluster of the Cancer Mission. The relevant EU research and health infrastructures should be exploited for available digital tools and services for dataset creation, standardisation, data discovery, secure access, management, visualization, harmonization, analysis and other functions as appropriate. Successful proposals are expected to establish appropriate collaborations with HORIZON-MISS-2024-CANCER-01-01 'Use cases for the UNCAN.eu research data platform'.

The Commission will facilitate coordination with other EU initiatives. Proposals should include a budget for networking, attendance at meetings, and joint activities of the 'Understanding' project cluster of the Cancer Mission.

Proposals should consider the involvement of the European Commission's JRC regarding its experience in this field and with respect to the value it could bring in providing an effective interface between research activities and pre-normative science as well as strategies and frameworks that address regulatory requirements. In that respect, the JRC will consider collaborating with any successful proposal and this collaboration, when relevant, should be established after the proposal’s approval.

Applicants envisaging to include clinical studies should provide details in the dedicated annex using the template provided in the submission system.

General conditions for admissibility, eligibility, financial and operational capacity, exclusion, evaluation, award, and legal and financial set-up are described in the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The thresholds for each evaluation criterion (Excellence, Impact, and Implementation) will be 4, with a cumulative threshold of 12.

Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms, as well as the Model Grant Agreement (MGA), are available in the Submission System. Additional documents, including the Horizon Europe Programme Guide, the Horizon Europe Framework Programme, and EU Financial Regulations, are also provided.

The total budget for the HORIZON-MISS-2025-02 call is divided among several topics:

HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-01: EUR 5,000,000 (1 grant)

HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-02: EUR 30,451,664 (5 grants, EUR 6,000,000 to 7,000,000 each)

HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-03: EUR 31,000,000 (4 grants, EUR 7,000,000 to 10,000,000 each)

HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-04: EUR 25,000,000 (4 grants, EUR 6,000,000 to 8,000,000 each)

HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-05: EUR 15,000,000 (4 grants, EUR 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 each)

HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-06: EUR 11,000,000 (1 grant)

There are 19 partner search announcements available for collaboration on this topic.

This funding opportunity aims to foster research and innovation that will improve our understanding of the complex interplay between environmental factors and cancer development in young people. By supporting projects that generate robust scientific evidence and develop new tools and methods, the EU seeks to inform prevention strategies, improve health outcomes, and contribute to the development of a comprehensive European research data platform for cancer. The call encourages collaboration, data sharing, and the application of cutting-edge technologies to address the challenges of paediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancers.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly defined in the provided text. However, based on the nature of Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), eligible applicants typically include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other organizations capable of conducting research or contributing to the coordination and support activities. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Funding Type: The funding type is primarily grant-based, utilizing Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA). The specific mechanism is a HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG].

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity appears to require a consortium, as the Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium selected for funding. Partner Search announcements are available, suggesting that consortia are expected.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU member states and associated countries, as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is health, specifically cancer research, with a focus on understanding the effects of environmental exposure on the risk of paediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancers. It also targets sectors related to data science, digital pathology, omics, artificial intelligence, and public health.

Mentioned Countries: The text refers to EU member states and associated countries, as well as non-EU/non-Associated Countries that have specific provisions for funding.

Project Stage: The project stage is research and innovation actions, which typically involve activities ranging from research to demonstration. The call also supports coordination and support actions, which focus on networking, dissemination, and stakeholder engagement.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call:
HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-01: around €5,000,000
HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-02: €6,000,000 to €7,000,000
HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-03: €7,000,000 to €10,000,000
HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-04: €6,000,000 to €8,000,000
HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-05: €3,000,000 to €5,000,000
HORIZON-MISS-2025-02-CANCER-06: around €11,000,000

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of grants to support research, innovation, coordination, and networking activities.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic is provided, allowing for an estimation based on the expected number of applications.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call, under the Cancer Mission, aims to improve the understanding of environmental factors contributing to cancer development in children, adolescents, and young adults. The call encompasses both Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), offering grants ranging from approximately 5 million to 11 million EUR depending on the topic. Eligible applicants include a wide range of research-oriented organizations from EU member states, associated countries, and potentially non-EU countries with specific funding provisions. Projects should leverage advanced technologies and data analysis techniques, including genomics, digital pathology, and artificial intelligence, to identify biomarkers, susceptibility windows, and risk factors associated with environmental exposures. The call emphasizes collaboration, data sharing through the UNCAN.eu platform, and the development of prevention strategies. The application process is single-stage, with a deadline of September 16, 2025. Successful projects are expected to contribute to improved prevention strategies, a better understanding of cancer development in young people, and the development of new digital tools and models for cancer research.