The European Parliament wants EU governments and institutions to step up the fight against this disease. MEPs called on 6 May for further action to promote a healthy lifestyle and reduce environmental and workplace risk factors as well as demanding increased EU investment in information and screening campaigns.

In a resolution drafted by MEP Alojz Peterle and adopted on 6 May by show of hands, MEPs welcome the Commission proposal to set up a European Partnership for Action Against Cancer for the period 2009-2013 to support the EU Member States’ efforts to tackle cancer. They believe particular efforts should be directed towards the new EU Member States. All Member States are urged to set up integrated cancer plans, to help achieve the Partnership’s long-term aim of reducing cancer by 15% by 2020.

More and better prevention and information campaigns

Prevention is the most cost-effective response, says the resolution, as one third of cancers are preventable. More resources should go into prevention, healthy lifestyles should be encouraged and ‘information campaigns on cancer screening’ should be ‘directed at the general public and all healthcare providers’.

More support is needed for research into cancer prevention, including the effects of harmful chemicals and environmental pollutants, nutrition, lifestyle and genetic factors. The links between cancer and risk factors such as tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceutical and synthetic hormones should be investigated, says Parliament.

Lastly, MEPs argue that cancer medicines, including treatments for rare and less common cancers, should be uniformly available to all patients who need them, and inequalities of access to cancer treatment and care must be reduced, including the new ‘targeted’ cancer drugs recently put on the market.