Policy
Patients in Turkey sue for reimbursement as the price of cancer drugs escalates
[stampo_standfirst] An acute financial and economic crisis in Turkey has led to the value of the Turkish Lira plunging and domestic inflation soaring, reaching almost 70% in March. The resulting price surge in imported cancer drugs is hitting cancer patients…
Por fin! A cancer prevention code for Latin America and the Caribbean
Last October, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) launched its Latin American and Caribbean Code Against Cancer, seeking to help reduce the region’s rising cancer incidence rates. “We must act now to reverse the projected trends,” said Elisabete Weiderpass, Director…
Tackling cancer in high-risk areas: the ‘Marmot City’ model
Inequalities in social, economic and educational status are inherent in all societies, to a greater or lesser extent. The discovery that a person’s health and life expectancy are closely tied to their position in the social hierarchy opened up new…
Women’s career progression in science: challenges, barriers, and solutions
Despite significant and hopefully promising discussions, graphs plotted using data from studies conducted at global and European levels continue to show a distinctive ‘scissors’ shape, indicating a significant gender gap in academic and scientific careers, which starts at the doctoral…
Making sense of recent progress in advanced breast cancer
Every two years breast cancer specialists and patient advocates gather at the Advanced Breast Cancer (ABC) International Consensus Conference to discuss challenges and uncertainties in treatment and care of people with advanced breast cancer, to explore how evidence, knowledge and…
Not just a climate issue: cutting cancer rates through cleaner cooking fuels in Africa
Nearly one billion people in Africa depend on polluting fuels like wood, charcoal, and kerosene for cooking, lighting, and heating their homes. The resulting household air pollution leads to approximately 700,000 premature deaths every year, constituting about 10% of the…
Reversing the rising trend in prostate cancer mortality in Poland
Between 2015 and 2020, age-standardised prostate cancer mortality rates rose by an estimated 18% in Poland, reflecting an increase in deaths from 4,876 to 5,748 over that period. This trend was in sharp contrast to EU countries as a whole,…
From stigma to strategy: Egypt’s journey in combating cervical cancer
Before 2021, there was little official focus on cervical cancer in Egypt. The World Health Organization's 2021 report indicated that fewer than 1 in 10 Egyptian women had been screened for cervical cancer in the previous five years. That was…
Tackling the crisis in Europe’s oncology workforce
"We’ve heard politicians saying, ‘It's a time bomb’. No, it's not a time bomb. We see the system is cracking completely right now." Norbert Couespel, senior coordinator of policy research at the European Cancer Organisation, voices his deep frustration at…
Further and faster: ECO mobilises to accelerate momentum from Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
“All over Europe new initiatives are being triggered. New communities of action are being formed, from young cancer trainees taking part in interspecialty training together, to cancer centres in every country getting ready to be part of a brand new…