Joint Statement for the Announcement of the INTER-LOCAL call

Five leading European cancer charities are joining forces to launch INTER-LOCAL, an international funding call aimed at accelerating clinical research into local treatment strategies for rare and hard-to-treat cancers. This initiative is a response to the urgent need for more effective and accessible therapies for patients facing limited treatment options.

The Swedish Cancer Society (Sweden), Norwegian Cancer Society (Norway), Scientific Foundation of the Spanish Association Against Cancer ( FCAECC; Spain), Stand up to Cancer (Kom op tegen Kanker; Belgium), and the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF; the Netherlands) are collaborating to stimulate cross-border clinical trials that focus on innovative local therapies in the domain of surgery and radiotherapy.

Why This Call Matters

Despite major advances in cancer treatment, survival rates for certain cancers remain alarmingly low. Rare cancers and hard-to-treat cancers often lack effective therapies, especially in advanced stages. Drug development alone has not sufficiently addressed these gaps, and local treatments—such as surgery and radiotherapy—offer promising alternatives that are often underfunded and underexplored.
Local therapies have evolved into highly precise, minimally invasive interventions that can significantly improve patient outcomes and quality of life. However, their development faces limited financial incentives and fragmented research efforts. INTER-LOCAL aims to change that by fostering international collaboration and providing dedicated funding.

Scope and Objectives

The INTER-LOCAL call will support late-phase (phase 2/3), international clinical trials focused on local treatment interventions for rare and/or hard-to-treat cancers. Eligible proposals must demonstrate:

• A clear focus on rare cancers (incidence <6/100,000 / year) and/or hard-to-treat cancers with low survival rates (5-year-survival < 25%) .
• Use of radiotherapy or surgery as the core experimental intervention.
• A strong rationale for international collaboration, including patient recruitment, harmonization of protocols, and implementation of results.
• Inclusion of partners from at least three of the five funding countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Norway, Sweden),  with optional inclusion centers from other countries. Maximum collaboration between the funding countries will be taken into account during the evaluation of the clinical trial applications.
• A robust plan for patient involvement, quality-of-life assessment, and long-term impact.

Preliminary timeline

Budget

The call has an indicative budget of up to 8.5 million euros.

Q&A / webinar

A dedicated online Q&A session for applicants will be organized in early December 2025.