Short and easy to remember, the new name, Rare Cancers Europe, replaces an old and rather long name that was often mistaken for the European Partnership for Action Against Cancer. By using colours rarely seen in health care, the new logo of Rare Cancers Europe embodies the concept of rarity. Its crossword (puzzle) shape alludes to the specific challenges associated with rare cancers and visualises the fact that international cooperation across stakeholder groups is paramount in order to effectively address those challenges.
The new tagline, Joining forces for action, reflects the initiative’s commitment to partnership and action by reinforcing that the challenges posed by rare cancers can only be effectively addressed if all stakeholder groups involved work together to develop and implement consensus-based, viable solutions.
To do this, the Rare Cancers Europe multi-stakeholder partnership has identified three main fields of action, namely the methodology of clinical research on rare cancers, the need for centres of expertise and European reference networks as well as clinical practice guidelines, and timely and equal access to rare cancer treatment and care across the European Union.
A series of corresponding activities will be developed and implemented over the course of the coming months, starting with a first-ever Rare Cancers Conference that looks at ways to improve the methodology of clinical research on rare cancers. The meeting will be held on 10 February 2012 in Brussels, Belgium, and will include an overview of rare cancers and related research challenges as well as the outcome of a consensus discussion process with all stakeholders that has just been kicked off.