32.I. Workshop: Joint Actions on cancer - a tool for informing policymakers on innovation in cancer control
Authors:   Organised by: NIJZ (Slovenia), iPAAC,   Chair persons: Tit Albreht - Slovenia, Marc Van den Bulcke - Belgium
Published: October 2020

Background

Cancer control has seen very rapid advances over the past couple of decades. Introduction of vaccines, launch of organised population-based screening programmes as well as a consistently enhanced survival and cure after treatment for care. Unfortunately, this has not been matched with an adequate harmonised and balanced approach at the health policy level. European Union launched Joint Actions (JAs) as an instrument to support joint European definition of key issues and their solutions through the work under a partnership approach in identifying good national practices in cancer control as well as proposing development of policies in previously poorly managed or neglected areas, such as survivorship and rehabilitation. Some of the instruments, such as guidelines for screening have not always been up-to-date to meet the advances brought by adjacent fields (such as HPV vaccination in prevention of cervical cancer) or challenges proposed by the broader professional communities.

Results

Literature and systematic reviews, setting definitions for several important areas, such as comprehensive cancer control networks or survivorship, agreement on quality criteria and defining standards for screening programmes, for comprehensive cancer control networks and addressing socio-economic inequalities in cancer control have all resulted from the activities of the joint actions.

The first JA EPAAC developed a panorama of directions for several dimensions of cancer control and provided policymakers with the European Guide on National Cancer Plans. The second JA CanCon proposed a joint critical review of the three recommended screening programmes and took a position on the four new proposed ones (prostate, lung, ovary and stomach). It also carried out an extensive systematic literature review on the problem of the socio-economic differences and inequalities in cancer care and control. For the first time, a policy paper dealing with public health genomics was developed. Similarly, the complex issue of rational reallocation of resources in cancer care was also tackled with.

Conclusions

Consistent collaboration at the multinational level through joint financing by both - the European Union as well as its Member States - seems to be providing good outcomes and brings cancer control to the top of the policy agenda. By using this mechanism, it was possible to identify issues in cancer policy that had been neglected, such as survivorship, psychosocial rehabilitation, socio-economic inequalities and palliative care. At the same time, instruments were developed, which should serve as tools for health policymakers in advancing their level of quality in cancer policy in the future.

Partnership collaboration between the European Commission and its Member States was fruitful in providing innovative approaches and solutions to some of the most important challenges that cancer policy and cancer control are facing.

Key messages

Joint work on policy recommendations between European Commission and Member States was fruitful. Joint Actions provide up-to-date recommendations on important challenges in cancer control.