Carina Dantas was honored to participate in the European Parliament session “From Cancer Care to Partnership: How OECI Advances Quality, Equity and Research in Europe and beyond its borders” that took place on 6 May 2026.
OECI is the Organization of European Cancer Institutes, that provides a forum for the Directors of member institutes to meet regularly, to exchange views, and to formulate plans for future, inter-institutional collaborative ventures, with more than 40 years of activity.
SHINE’s CEO discussed the “Meaningful Patient and Public Involvement in Oncology: Co-research, Stakeholder Partnership and Patient Engagement in Practice”, and” Meaningful patient and public involvement in cancer research – from participation to co-creation”.
The presentation highlighted how meaningful Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) moves beyond consultation towards true co-research and stakeholder partnership, ensuring that people affected by cancer actively shape research priorities, design, implementation and outcomes. Embedding patient engagement into oncology research is essential to advancing equitable, person-centered and impactful cancer innovation across Europe.
Organized by the OECI, the roundtable explored how patient partnership can be integrated across care, governance and research, and what policy frameworks are needed to sustain these approaches at European level.
“Cancer policy in Europe must not only deliver excellent treatment, but also ensure that patients and citizens are recognized as partners, strengthening quality, reducing inequalities and supporting comprehensive cancer care across Europe and beyond”, says Carina Dantas. “It was an inspiring exchange with policymakers, researchers, healthcare professionals and patient representatives on how to transform participation into co-creation in cancer research.”