Developing and implementing innovative Patient-Centred Care Pathways for cancer patients

In the EU, 2.7M people were diagnosed with and 1.3M died of cancer in 2020. Over 12M people have survived cancer, thanks to advances in early detection and new therapies. With higher cure rates and more patients living longer with cancer, access to patient-centred care consisting of optimal supportive, palliative, survivorship and end-of-life care becomes increasingly important. However, cancer care still has silos, and to this day, there is no technical support available that is suitable for different cultures, settings and environments.

Several randomised controlled trials have provided evidence that the integration of patient-centred care in standard oncology care results in better patient and caregiver outcomes. As yet, these findings have not translated into clinical routine.

In this project, we will develop technology-enhanced and evidence-based patient-centred care pathways, called MyPath, to be merged with tumour-centred treatments across supportive, palliative, survivorship and end-of-life care. MyPath integrates patient-reported outcomes of the OUS Eir software, to be further advanced with contributions of renowned European oncologists, ethicists, psychologists and sociologists. It will be configurated on the eHealth platform of our SME partner DNV Imatis. Its effectiveness and sustainability will be assessed in an implementation science study in 9 clinical centres across Europe. With the support of leading cancer care professional associations ESMO and EAPC, we are committed to delivering the right care to the right person at the right time by the right persons.

We hypothesise that MyPath can significantly improve the quality of and access to treatment and care, reduce variations in clinical practice, and optimise resources in family, community, and hospital care settings. This will ultimately reduce the physical, emotional, and ultimately economic burden linked to cancer.