Cluster Prevention

Our ambition is to prevent cancer wherever possible and to improve quality of life of cancer patients. That’s why we focus on promoting healthy lifestyles and modifying environmental factors that are known to influence cancer risk. Within our Prevention cluster, KWF is pursuing three key initiatives aimed at reducing cancer risk and supporting patients with lifestyle changes as part of cancer care.

Tracks

• Lifestyle as part of cancer care

Adopting a healthy lifestyle during cancer treatment can boost recovery, influence disease progression, and enhance quality of life for patients. Key lifestyle factors include physical activity, smoking cessation, responsible alcohol use, balanced nutrition, and stress management.

To ensure that multimodal lifestyle support tailored to patients’ needs are reimbursed, implemented, and sustained, KWF will fund a program on this topic in collaboration with relevant stakeholders. This program will be set up with targeted network funding, from 2025 to 2030.

Consequently, projects focused on the development, evaluation, and implementation of multimodal lifestyle programs will not be eligible for submission through KWF's open calls. However, projects exploring the (biological and/or molecular) mechanisms that make lifestyle programs effective for cancer patients are welcome to submit proposals under the Exploration open call.

• Reducing cancer lifestyle risk factors through a healthier society

This track aims to reduce the number cancer diagnoses caused by modifiable lifestyle risk factors by making a healthy lifestyle achievable for all, especially for those who are most vulnerable. Three priority research areas have been identified: 

1. Reducing exposure to temptations for unhealthy behaviour and limiting industry influence (commercial determinants of health).  
2. Developing local approaches to stimulate a healthy environment and reduce risk factors in co-creation with citizens.  
3. Preventing unhealthy habits and supporting individuals to break them.

• Environmental factors in relation to cancer incidence

Environmental factors, such as carcinogens in our homes and workplaces, can increase cancer risk. We need to gain understanding of the risks (hazard × (degree of) exposure) associated with (potential) carcinogens, both individually and in combination, and how they contribute to the onset of cancer in order to take effective measures that promote a healthy environment. As part of this track, KWF is exploring which unanswered research questions need to be addressed in order to help realize the goal that no one is needlessly exposed to carcinogens.