The second symposium of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer took place in September 2011 at the European Parliament in Brussels (Belgium). The aim of the symposium was to discuss a wide range of topics in health-related quality of life, symptom research and cancer clinical trials, including their design, implementation and analysis. Faculty and attendees included key opinion leaders in their fields, among them many Editorial Board members of Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research, along with EU legislators and European patient groups, allowing increased collaboration between these different stakeholders in quality-of-life research in cancer clinical trials.