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CANDLE project kicks off, aiming to build an EU cancer research infrastructure
Lygature is proud to announce its involvement in the program management of the CANDLE project. ‘CANDLE offers a unique opportunity to implement data-driven approaches in health research at scale in Europe.’
The EU-funded CANDLE Project (an acronym for ‘National CAncer data Node DeveLopErs’) officially kicked off on 1 June 2025. Its three-year mission: to advance the establishment of National Cancer Data Nodes to support the effective implementation of the European Initiative to Understand Cancer (UNCAN.eu) and European Cancer Patient Digital Centre (ECPDC) platforms.
A consortium of forty partners from twenty European countries, CANDLE aims to support member states and associated countries in setting up and connecting National Cancer Data Nodes. These Nodes will manage and share cancer data nationally and across borders, connecting different national actors.
Jan-Willem Boiten, Senior Partnership Leader"The European Health Data Space regulation will change the rules of the game when reusing health data for research purposes"
The € 3 mln project will be coordinated by Lygature’s long-standing partner Health-RI, with whom we will be responsible for the program management of the project. Senior Partnership Leader Jan-Willem Boiten and Partnership Managers Ummi Ciptasari and Robin Navest will be involved from Lygature’s side. ‘Cross-border, data-driven research in cancer has a great promise to impact patients but is still hampered by a range of practical issues,’ says Boiten. ‘These include lack of interoperability, complex and diverse access procedures, legal and ethical hurdles, and lack of common tooling. The emerging network of national cancer data nodes to be supported by CANDLE will offer a great opportunity to truly address these challenges.’
CANDLE puts into practice the EU Mission on Cancer and Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan by supporting their implementation on national level and fostering dialogue with other major initiatives. Moreover, CANDLE will play a strategic role in supporting the European Health Data Space (EHDS) by establishing a federated network of national nodes in the cancer domain. These nodes can be seen as demonstrators for national disease-specific implementation of the EHDS, aligning EU-wide health data policies with regional and national requirements. ‘The European Health Data Space regulation will change the rules of the game when reusing health data for research purposes,’ says Boiten. ‘CANDLE is closely collaborating with the European Commission to work out the practical consequences of the EHDS for the oncology field. Oncology can thereby function as an exemplar for other disease areas.’