BCLEAR at EAU26: Strengthening health literacy in bladder cancer across Europe

At the European Association of Urology Congress 2026 (EAU26), we presented the BCLEAR (Bladder Cancer Literacy for All) project during the session “Health Literacy in Bladder Cancer” at the Patient Advocacy Plaza. The session explored how improving health literacy can help people recognise symptoms earlier, better understand their diagnosis and participate more actively in decisions about their care.

During the session, our Executive Director, Alex Filicevas, together with Renée Leenen, MD and PhD Candidate in Urology at Erasmus MC Academie, shared an overview of the project and its objectives. BCLEAR is a three-year initiative co-funded by the European Union through the EU4Health programme, bringing together patient organisations, healthcare professionals, researchers and national urological societies to improve bladder cancer awareness, information and shared decision-making across Europe.

The project brings together a broad consortium of partners and national urological societies from Greece, Hungary and Poland, which are the initial focus countries for the development and piloting of the project’s resources.

A key part of the project involves developing a series of practical tools and resources to support patients, healthcare professionals and the wider public. These include:

• A citizen education toolbox focused on bladder cancer prevention and timely diagnosis
• A patient education toolbox covering treatment, care, rehabilitation and survivorship
• A shared decision-making module to support conversations between patients and healthcare professionals
• Training resources for clinicians
• A virtual resource library and best practice guide to support future health literacy initiatives.

The project follows a structured methodology combining research, co-creation with patients, piloting and evaluation, ensuring that all materials are evidence-based, patient-centred and adaptable to different national contexts.

As part of this work, researchers involved in BCLEAR have also conducted a scoping review of existing bladder cancer education materials. The analysis found that many currently available resources are of limited quality or written at a level that may be difficult for the average person to understand, and that patients are often not involved in their development. These findings are helping guide the creation of new educational tools that are clearer, more accessible and better aligned with patient needs.

By improving access to understandable and reliable information, BCLEAR aims to support earlier recognition of bladder cancer symptoms, strengthen communication between patients and healthcare professionals and ultimately contribute to reducing the burden of bladder cancer across Europe.

Learn more about the BCLEAR project on the BCLEAR website and follow BCLEAR on LinkedIn and X to stay updated on new resources and project developments.