Cancer Care Coordination Study
An exploratory study of who carries coordination work in cancer care teams, and whether it is recognised.
What this study addresses
Cancer care depends on coordination across clinicians, settings and information systems. Every patient’s pathway passes through several specialties, and someone has to join them up.
How this work is carried, by whom, and whether it is formally recognised has received limited attention.
This is not a European problem. It is a global one.
In March 2026, at an ECO/EONS roundtable on AI in cancer care, we brought this question to the room: "What framework exists for the coordination layer?"
Twelve seconds of silence. Then the honest answer: none.
What the study asks
Cancer care professionals took part across European regions and beyond. Data collection closed on 20 August 2026.
The study asked about three aspects of coordination in each respondent’s own team.
- Coordination reality: which of eight coordination tasks they carry, and whether each is formally recognised.
- Coordination capacity: how they rate their team across six dimensions.
- Coordination demand and structure: what is driving changing demand, and how coordination is held in their team.
The six dimensions are Clinical Integration, Communication Clarity, Decision Efficiency, Role Clarity, Psychological Safety and Adaptive Capacity. They are grounded in 69+ peer-reviewed studies.
The responses show how professionals see their own teams on each dimension, and where they see the gaps.
Why this matters
Coordination problems in cancer care repeat across institutions and countries. They are structural, and they are rarely measured.
AI implementation does not fix coordination. It amplifies both what works and what does not.
"There is no systematic framework for measuring coordination capacity in cancer care teams. The gap is real and it needs to be addressed."
— Senior oncologist, ECO / EONS AI Roundtable, March 2026
About this research
Conducted and funded by Nexus Recognita. Authors: István Borbíró, PhD, and Corina Richter. Presented as Rapid Oral CN81 at EONS19, within the ESMO Congress 2026, Madrid, 24 October 2026. A peer-reviewed publication is in preparation.
Governance and institutional participation
The study is run to a documented data governance and protection standard, and holds no patient or clinical data. The full governance statement is available on request. Where an institution applies its own ethics governance, we welcome its review and provide whatever it requires.
Research enquiries and governance questions: research@nexusrecognita.com.
The findings
The findings are presented at EONS19, within the ESMO Congress 2026, in Madrid on 24 October 2026, as Rapid Oral CN81.
If you took part and left your email, they come to you directly.
Coming soon...
On 26 November 2026 the Cancer Care Coordination Summit gives them an evening. It is online and free.
69+
Peer-Reviewed Studies
10+
Countries Represented
8+
Cancer Care Roles