Five years after it was introduced, the European Plan to Fight Cancer has helped push the disease up the European Union's health policy agenda, but the strategy now faces a harder test: showing that its initiatives produce measurable gains for patients, Gaceta Médica reports. The plan was presented in February 2021 and covers the full course of the disease, from prevention through to the quality of life of people who survive cancer.
According to the outlet, the strategy has encouraged cooperation between member states and generated new activity in vaccination, screening, research and cancer care. Yet difficulties in evaluating its results, together with uncertainty over how it will be funded in the future, mean its impact should be assessed with caution.
Why it matters
The plan's central challenge has shifted. As Gaceta Médica frames it, the question is no longer only whether Brussels can launch initiatives, but whether those initiatives translate into real improvements for the population. That distinction matters because a strategy spanning prevention, early detection, treatment and survivorship touches millions of people across the bloc, and because the political case for continued investment depends on evidence that the approach is working.
José María Martín-Moreno, a professor of preventive medicine and public health at the University of Valencia and director of European and global health policies at the ECO Foundation, told the outlet that the plan's broad scope is among its main achievements. He said it had placed cancer on the European agenda with a perspective covering everything from prevention to life after a diagnosis.
Prevention and vaccination targets
Prevention remains one of the most important levers for lowering cancer incidence, and the plan has emphasised vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is linked to several cancers, including cervical cancer. The EU has set a goal of reaching 90% HPV vaccination coverage among girls by 2030 and is also encouraging higher uptake among boys. Tobacco-control measures and policies aimed at harmful alcohol consumption and other risk factors form part of the same effort.
Martín-Moreno cautioned that enthusiasm for new technology should not push aside preventive measures with a proven record. He told Gaceta Médica that the appeal of technological innovation must not overshadow prevention strategies that have already shown their worth, and that priorities should be set according to achievable impact and the needs that remain unmet.
Screening, research and digital tools
On early detection, a 2022 European recommendation called for strengthening screening programmes for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer, and for examining whether other tumours could be added once sufficient evidence exists. The aim is to improve both the reach and the quality of these programmes.
Martín-Moreno highlighted recent European guidance on cervical cancer screening and quality standards designed to raise participation among women who are least likely to take part. He described this as a practical contribution because it links evidence to the way services are organised. The difficulty, according to the outlet's reporting, is not simply offering tests but making sure that people who are invited can attend, receive their results and complete any follow-up diagnostic tests.
Research receives support through Horizon Europe's Cancer Mission, which complements the plan, alongside projects in digitalisation, medical imaging, professional training and telemedicine. Martín-Moreno pointed to eCAN Plus, an initiative aimed at strengthening digital capacity and enabling tools such as remote patient monitoring, as an example of progress in both tools and cooperation on care.
He told the outlet that there have been genuine advances in tools and in cooperation on care, citing telemedicine, remote follow-up through projects such as eCAN Plus, and European medical training programmes. But having new technology does not guarantee that every patient can benefit from it. Whether it reaches clinical practice depends on resources, how services are organised and the decisions of each health system.
Inequalities persist across the patient pathway
Disparities appear at every stage, from exposure to risk factors to participation in screening and access to specialists. Income, education, place of residence and language barriers can all shape a person's chances of prevention and treatment.
To map these gaps, the EU has the European Cancer Inequalities Registry and national profiles produced with the OECD. Martín-Moreno said these tools help identify differences and guide policy, and that cooperation between centres and professionals is being encouraged so that capacity and knowledge can be shared. But he stressed that identifying an inequality is only a first step and that staying in a contemplative phase is not enough — the underlying cause must be addressed.
Responses need to be tailored, he added: sometimes what is required is more care resources, and sometimes it is help with travel, information adapted to people's needs, or support for those who struggle to complete the diagnostic process. The goal is for the quality of care not to depend on a patient's postcode or socioeconomic situation.
What to watch
Despite the tools and cross-border collaboration the plan has generated, Gaceta Médica reports that it remains difficult to credit it with broad improvements in early diagnosis or survival across Europe as a whole. How the plan's results are measured, and how its next phase is financed, will determine whether that verdict changes.
