High-level conference on the aim to eradicating inequalities within cancer care in the EU
The Equity, Excellence and Innovation: Modern Cancer Care for All high-level conference on cancer took place in Stockholm on 1 February.
Jointly hosted by the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, the conference gathered cancer experts from all over the EU as well as high-level delegates and representatives of European cancer organisations.
Building on Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the conference addressed three main areas: prevention, early detection and the conditions for data-driven cancer care. The main theme of the conference was equitable cancer care.
In her opening remarks, Swedish Minister for Health Care Ms Acko Ankarberg Johansson stated:
“To a large extent, guaranteeing high-quality cancer care is about creating sustainability within the care system by focusing the right efforts in the right place. Focusing efforts on prevention, early detection and making certain that we have the prerequisites needed to make the most out of health data are all keys to creating this type of sustainability.”
In 2020, 2.7 million people in the EU were diagnosed with cancer, and 1.3 million people lost their lives to the disease. The conference’s main aim was therefore to gather experts and leaders alike to discuss how to best address these important matters.
The European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Ms Stella Kyriakides, said in her opening remarks:
“Overcoming cancer inequalities across the EU can only be achieved if we address the unacceptable gaps in access to cancer care that we see today. Everyone in the EU, wherever they live, should have the same opportunities for preventing, treating and surviving cancer. With the launch of the first Cancer Country Profiles under the European Cancer Inequalities Registry, we will be able to identify the trends, disparities and inequalities between Member States and help us target our support where patients need it the most. People are the beating heart of our work on cancer, and this is the solidarity that underpins Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.”
Among the keynote speakers were Dr Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe; Dr Douglas R Lowy, Principal Deputy Director of the American National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Ms Carolina Darias San Sebastián, the Spanish Minister of Health. Spain will take over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union after Sweden.
The conference participants engaged in insightful panel discussions on cancer prevention and precision health, innovative solutions for early detection with the purpose of eliminating inequalities within cancer care and health data as a key to modern and equitable cancer care.
Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
If efforts to address cancer are not stepped up, cancer will most likely become the most common cause of death within the EU in the coming years. Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, published in 2021, is a key pillar of a strong European Health Union that aims to ensure high-quality health care and support for patients and their loved ones throughout the course of the disease.
Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan is structured around four key action areas where the EU can add the most value: prevention; early detection; diagnosis and treatment; and quality of life of cancer patients and survivors. Over the coming years, together with the EU’s Horizon Europe Mission on Cancer, it will focus on research and innovation, tap into the potential that digitalisation and new technologies offer and mobilise financial instruments to support Member States.