ESMO 2026: Cancer care coordination study presented

On Saturday 24 October, researchers from Nexus Recognita presented the first findings of the Cancer Care Coordination Study at EONS19 within the ESMO Congress 2026 in Madrid.

The study asked 142 cancer care professionals in 36 countries who carries the coordination work in their team, and whether that work is recognised. The respondents work in 18 cancer care roles.

They range from oncologists and nurses to pathologists, pharmacists and care coordinators. The study grew out of a question put to an ECO/EONS roundtable on AI in cancer care in March 2026.

The question was what framework exists for the coordination layer of cancer care. The room had none.

The relational work is the least often recognised

The survey asked about eight coordination tasks. Managing conflict or tension in the team and sensing breakdown before it surfaces are the two tasks most often carried without recognition.

Communication clarity is the dimension respondents select as important to address

Respondents rated their teams on six coordination dimensions. Asked which one matters most to address, they named communication clarity most often.

Coordination often rests on one person.

About six in ten respondents describe a single individual who keeps coordination together in their team. Four in ten of them say that person is not in a leadership role.

Case volume and workforce instability are the drivers of changing demand that respondents name most often.

The authors conclude: “Together, these findings point to coordination capacity as workforce-design infrastructure, currently sustained by invisible labour, in rapidly evolving cancer care.”

István Borbíró, PhD, who presented the study for Nexus Recognita said, “Coordination is to a cancer care team what vitamins are to the body. You only notice it when it is missing. The respondents carry this work, and in so many cases it goes unrecognised and remains unseen. Once it is visible, it can be measured and improved,”.

Corina Richter, co-author of the study, said, “When coordination depends on one person, leaders need to understand what that person is carrying. I would encourage them to ask their team: who steps in when communication falters or tensions arise, and what support do they have? Those answers can help teams decide where responsibility, time and support need to be made explicit,”.

Nexus Recognita designed, conducted and funded the study.

Source: Nexus Recognita