In 2020, 2.7 million people were diagnosed with cancer in the European Union, and 1.3 million lost their lives from this disease.
There are differences within the continent, such as survival rates after cancer treatment, which vary by 20% between countries, and those for colon cancer at five years, which range from 49 to 69.
All these data highlight the need for the EU to intensify its efforts against cancer through concrete policies.
In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a serious effect on cancer care: it has disrupted prevention and treatment, delayed diagnosis and affected access to medicines, explains the European Commission on its official website.
In the information note, it is recalled that the EU has been working for decades in the fight against cancer, but that its latest action plan was developed in the early 1990s, so it is considered that Europe should urgently renew its commitment to cancer prevention, treatment and care so that it adapts to the growing challenges linked to the disease and reflects advances in care.
Stop cancer: European plan
In the coming years, the Cancer Plan, which includes concrete measures in relation to tobacco, alcohol and food, it will focus on helping researchers in both small and large Member States to exchange findings and provide them with access to crucial health data on the possible causes of cancer and its promising treatments.
Through their actions and initiatives, medical staff and hospitals will be able to take advantage of a wealth of shared information, enabling patients across the EU to benefit from better care and treatment.
A wide range of EU policies will support the Cancer Plan, with the digitalisation, research and innovation as starting points for a new approach to cancer care in the EU.
Actions will range from employment, education, social policy and equality, through marketing, agriculture, energy, environment and climate, to transport, cohesion policy and taxation.
The Plan does not have an end date, but it will be subject to periodic reviews, the first at the end of 2024. This review will assess whether enough actions have been carried out to achieve the objectives or if additional measures are necessary.
Measures: alcohol, tobacco, food
Alcohol
According to the same source, Europe has the highest levels of alcohol consumption in the world and alcohol-attributable cancer is a serious health problem.
Despite this, few people are aware that alcohol is a risk factor for cancer. It is necessary to strengthen alcohol control policies to prevent cancer cases and deaths attributable to its consumption.
Therefore, the Commission will support Member States in implementing a wide range of policies, such as reducing the affordability and availability of alcohol, limiting its advertising and promotion, as well as raising awareness of the link between consumption of alcohol and the development of cancer.
Also, the Commission will review EU legislation on taxes on alcohol. Too will review the tax legislation on the cross-border purchase of alcoholic products. A public consultation on this matter is currently underway.
Tobacco
The consumption of cigarettes and other forms of tobacco is responsible for 15 to 20% of all cancer cases in Europe, which makes it the main avoidable risk factor.
In addition to addressing traditional tobacco products, action on the next generation of tobacco and related products will continue to be a priority as new products such as heated tobacco, among others, continue to enter the market.
It is necessary to protect young people from acquiring lasting habits that are harmful to health.
The Plan includes measures to help create a “Tobacco-Free Generation” adopting a comprehensive approach to it, which will include:
- A revision of the Tobacco Products Directive to tighten product regulation;
- A revision of the Directive on tobacco taxation, in order to review the EU’s minimum tax rates on tobacco products and harmonize the taxation of new products;
- A revision of the EU tax legislation on the cross-border purchase of tobacco products: a public consultation on this matter is currently underway;
- The treatment of advertising, promotion and tobacco sponsorship on social media and online services; and support to member states in implementing the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
The Commission will propose an update of the Council Recommendation on smoke-free environments and will recommend that its scope be extended to emerging products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
Likewise, a new impetus will be given to Member States to improve the application of existing legislation in the framework of their general tobacco control strategies, including those related to sales to minors and campaigns to quit smoking.
TOfeeding
Diet can influence the risk of cancer many years before its diagnosis, already during childhood.
A diet composed of a wide intake of fruits and vegetables, whole grains instead of refined ones and a low consumption of red meat and processed meat, sugary drinks and salt will reduce the risk not only of cancer, but also of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and mortality in general.
The Commission will assess the EU Action Plan against Childhood Obesity 2014-2020 and propose follow-up actions.
Strong synergies will be established with the Farm to Fork Strategy and a revision of the school fruit, vegetable and milk distribution program will be proposed to make more healthy products available to children.
In addition, the Commission is carrying out a review of the policy on the promotion of agricultural products in order to improve their contribution to sustainable production and consumption and in line with the shift to a more plant-based diet, with less red and processed meat and fewer foods related to the risk of cancer and with more fruits and vegetables.
Cancer Knowledge Center, the first step
The Commission has recently opened the Cancer Knowledge Centre, the first emblematic measure carried out under the aforementioned plan.
The Center has been established as a new online platform to collect documentation and coordinate actions against the main cause of death among those under 65 in Europe.
It will take stock of the latest literature on cancer, provide health guidelines and quality assurance systems, and monitor and project trends in cancer incidence and mortality across the EU.
It also provides a forum where everyone in the fight against cancer can share best practices, collaborate and coordinate to make the most of our collective knowledge and evidence-based science.
Cancer in Spain: a vital emergency
The aforementioned European plan has served as an opening arch to the conference ‘Cancer in Spain: a vital emergency’, where more than thirty entities involved in its approach —scientific societies, patient associations and NGOs— have made a common front to define a ‘road map’ with which to address the existing inequities and challenges around a pathology that causes more than 113,000 deaths and 280,000 new diagnoses annual in Spain.
The Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, participated in the meeting corroborating the Government’s support for the ‘Cancer NOW’ project, promoted by the Foundation for Excellence and Quality in Oncology (ECO).
In his speech, Darias pointed out how “first order priority” improve detection and treatment through commitments such as the National Cancer Strategy, the Inveat Plan —which will allocate 795 million euros to High Technology Units— or Precision Oncology.
More than twenty panelists have participated in this meeting through different blocks that have analyzed axes such as the access to innovation, incorporation and management of more biomarkers in clinical practice, and heto equity in oncology care
Spain: equity in cancer care
On this point, the existing inequities between hospitals in the different Autonomous Communities have been highlighted.
In the words of doctor Carlos Camps, director of Scientific Programs of the ECO Foundation, The first transformation must be faced from the base: “We have a model health system organization, but a model for the 1980s”.
For this reason, a profound reform of the procedures is advocated within which the incorporation of new diagnostic technologies in a homogeneous manner throughout the territory is addressed, as well as maximizing the use of human and economic resources that have repercussions on improvements in care, without distinctions, for all cancer patients.
at the table named ‘Biomarkers in Oncology’, the vice president of the ECO Foundation, the Doctor Jesus Garcia-Foncillas, has focused on the “paradigm change” that the arrival of biomarkers has meant to “carry out a more directed approach that allows oncology to be valued and to search for the most effective treatments based on the molecular characteristics of the disease”.
The speakers at this table agreed on the same idea: it is urgent to detect and incorporate new biomarkers into the portfolio of SNS services in an effective way. In Oncology, betting on precision medicine is betting on quality medicine, the panelists agreed.
Subsequently, at the last table dedicated to access to innovation The differences in access to new oncological treatments of Spanish patients with respect to European citizens, as well as between the various Autonomous Communities of the country, have been addressed.
Various studies mentioned reveal that only 50% of the drugs approved at European level by the EMA are approved in Spain.
Or that, after its approval by the EMA, the average access time in Spain exceeds 400 days compared to about 120 days in countries like Germany.
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