Cancerworld Magazine
  • About the Magazine
    • About us
    • Editorial Team
    • Events
    • Archive
    • Contacts
  • Articles
    • Policy
    • Practice Points
    • Delivery of Care
    • Biology basic
    • Medicine
    • Featured
  • Contents
    • News
    • Editorials
    • Interviews to the Expert
    • In the Hot Seat
    • Profiles
    • Obituaries
    • Voices
  • ESCO Corner
SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Cancerworld Magazine
Cancerworld Magazine
  • About the Magazine
    • About us
    • Editorial Team
    • Events
    • Archive
    • Contacts
  • Articles
    • Policy
    • Practice Points
    • Delivery of Care
    • Biology basic
    • Medicine
    • Featured
  • Contents
    • News
    • Editorials
    • Interviews to the Expert
    • In the Hot Seat
    • Profiles
    • Obituaries
    • Voices
  • ESCO Corner
Cancerworld Magazine > News > Building back cancer services after Covid-19: European Cancer Organisation plan
  • News

Building back cancer services after Covid-19: European Cancer Organisation plan

  • 2 December 2020
  • Janet Fricker
Building back cancer services after Covid-19: European Cancer Organisation plan
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
0
0

The European Cancer Organisation has proposed seven urgent recommendations to ‘build back cancer services better’ after the ongoing challenges resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on Cancer in Europe’, launched during the European Cancer Summit on the 18th November, aims to rectify the devastating impact that the virus has had on cancer services across Europe. The plan, targeting national governments, the European Union, and the World Health Organization, is intended to address concerns that, as a result of the pandemic, pre-existing inequalities in cancer care could widen.

“The 7-point plan that we propose must be implemented otherwise cancer will regrettably become the forgotten ‘C’ in the fight against Covid-19. And if that happens, we seriously risk a cancer epidemic across Europe, undoing in less than 10 months the progress we have made in cancer outcomes in the last decade,” explains Mark Lawler, co-chair of the European Cancer Organisation’s Special Network on Covid-19, and Professor of Digital Health at Queen’s University Belfast. The network, consisting of 25 members, was launched in July 2020 as an urgent response to address the impact Covid-19 was having on European health systems’ ability to provide cancer care.

Getting smarter with cancer data, adds Lawler, represents a major part of the group’s advice to governments. “If your data is 3, 6, or even 9 months old in some cases, it’s like trying to fight Covid-19 and cancer with one hand tied behind your back. There’s no excuse any more for not making our cancer data systems much more real time and data more available,” says Lawler.

Undoubtedly, Covid-19 has had a detrimental effect on cancer care delivery across Europe. Concerns highlighted in the plan include modelling studies predicting a risk of thousands of excess deaths in cancer patients due to disruptions such as cancer screening and early detection services being suspended, delays in provision of all cancer treatment modalities, and severe effects on clinical trial recruitment. It is feared that delays will lead to more patients presenting with advanced disease resulting in poorer outcomes.

The seven recommendations, unanimously supported by the European Cancer Organisation’s membership, are:

  • Urgently addressing the diagnostic and treatment backlog caused by the pandemic. Recommendations include identifying innovative methods for maintaining delivery of screening programmes, creating pathways for cancer patient care that take into account the pandemic, and developing strategies for reducing bureaucratic burdens associated with clinical trials.
  • Restoring the confidence of European citizens and patients in cancer health services. Recommendations include identifying the need for priority access to Covid-19 testing for cancer patients, separating out Covid-19 free cancer care centres from Covid-19 hospitals, and communication campaigns highlighting the critical need for patients with suspected cancer symptoms to visit healthcare professionals without delay.
  • Tackling medicines, products and equipment shortages. Recommendations include enabling easy redistribution of medicines across European borders in case of emergency, and improving early warning systems and information-sharing between countries regarding medicine shortages.
  • Addressing cancer workforce gaps across the European continent. Recommendations include encouraging sharing and uptake of best practices, and any redeployment of staff to meet Covid-19 needs being accompanied by appropriate assessments of the impact on cancer care.
  • Employing innovation technologies and solutions to strengthen cancer systems and provide optimal care to cancer patients. Recommendations include health systems setting up strategies for appropriate use of telemedicine in cancer care, best practice sharing on use of telemedicine and independent research to generate robust evidence on appropriate use of telemedicine.
  • Embed data collection and the rapid deployment of cancer intelligence to enhance policy delivery. Recommendations include ensuring timely access and deployment of real-time cancer data to underpin improved cancer service delivery and enhance cancer clinical research.
  • Secure deeper long-term European health cooperation. Recommendations include the European Medicines Agency providing a stronger mandate to help countries manage pan-national medicine shortages, and national governments engaging in enhancing international healthcare cooperation.

The plan ends on a positive note, with the authors suggesting that ‘cataclysmic global events’, such as Covid-19, offer a real possibility to alert political leaders to the value of deepening mechanisms for international cooperation. They cite the example of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, from which emerged the Health Organisation branch of the League of Nations, the predecessor to what eventually became the World Health Organization.

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • Cancer Services
  • covid-19
Janet Fricker

Janet Fricker is a medical writer specialising in oncology and cardiology. After researching articles for Cancerworld she runs, swims, and eats porridge.

Previous Article
  • Voices

A 360° approach to a 360° problem: why a mission is the right approach to solving cancer

  • 2 December 2020
  • Bettina Ryll
View Post
Next Article
  • Articles
  • Policy

Croatia’s cancer plan showcases the value of European cancer collaboration

  • 9 December 2020
  • Sophie Fessl
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • News

Personalised neoantigen vaccine for kidney cancer shows promise in phase 1 study

  • Janet Fricker
  • 8 May 2025
View Post
  • News
  • Senza categoria

What Caught Our Eye in April: Oncology’s Top Moments

  • Yeva Margaryan
  • 7 May 2025
View Post
  • News

CancerWorld #102 (April 2025)

  • Yeva Margaryan
  • 22 April 2025
View Post
  • News
  • Senza categoria

What Caught Our Eye in March: Oncology’s Top Moments

  • Janet Fricker
  • 8 April 2025
View Post
  • News

Ovarian cancer: mechanism conferring resistance to immunotherapy revealed

  • Janet Fricker
  • 21 March 2025
View Post
  • News

Muscular strength and cardiorespiratory fitness improve survival in cancer patients

  • Janet Fricker
  • 20 March 2025
View Post
  • News

CancerWorld #101 (February 2025): The Must-Read Oncology Issue Returns to Print with Exclusive Interviews and Breakthroughs

  • Yeva Margaryan
  • 18 March 2025
View Post
  • News

Low-dose aspirin reduces colorectal cancer recurrence in patients with PI3K alterations

  • Janet Fricker
  • 6 March 2025
search
CancerWorld #101 Download CancerWorld #101 Download CancerWorld #101 Download or search in Cancerworld archive
Newsletter

Subscribe free to
Cancerworld!

We'll keep you informed of the latest features and news with a fortnightly email

Subscribe now
Latest News
  • Personalised neoantigen vaccine for kidney cancer shows promise in phase 1 study
    • 8 May 2025
  • What Caught Our Eye in April: Oncology’s Top Moments
    • 7 May 2025
  • CancerWorld #102 (April 2025)
    • 22 April 2025
  • What Caught Our Eye in March: Oncology’s Top Moments
    • 8 April 2025
  • Ovarian cancer: mechanism conferring resistance to immunotherapy revealed
    • 21 March 2025
Article
  • Miriam Merad and the 2025 Sjöberg Prize: A Celebration of Innovation in Cancer Immunotherapy
    • 6 May 2025
  • Istanbul, Ankara take action on HPV vaccination, as government delays promised national programme
    • 1 April 2025
  • Could this dual approach be the frontier that finally gets immunotherapy to work for MSS colorectal cancer?
    • 31 March 2025
Social

Would you follow us ?

Contents
  • Miriam Merad and the 2025 Sjöberg Prize: A Celebration of Innovation in Cancer Immunotherapy
    • 6 May 2025
  • “I really care about people.” – Philip Kantoff, A Life in Science and Medicine
    • 5 May 2025
  • What If the World’s Leading Prostate Cancer Epidemiologist Opened a Restaurant? A Conversation with Lorelei Mucci- A Harvard Scientist, A Mother, A Leader
    • 23 April 2025
MENU
  • About the Magazine
    • About us
    • Editorial Team
    • Events
    • Archive
    • Contacts
  • Articles
    • Policy
    • Practice Points
    • Delivery of Care
    • Biology basic
    • Medicine
    • Featured
  • Contents
    • News
    • Editorials
    • Interviews to the Expert
    • In the Hot Seat
    • Profiles
    • Obituaries
    • Voices
  • ESCO Corner
Cancerworld Magazine
  • About us
  • Articles
  • Media Corner
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Cancerworld is published by OncoDaily (P53 Inc.) | Mailing Address: 867 Boylston st, 5th floor, Ste 1094 Boston, MA 02116, United States | [email protected]

Archivio Cancerworld

Input your search keywords and press Enter.