Tackling Cancer Early: A Vision for the Future

We have a unique opportunity to transform the future of cancer care

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, and the global cancer burden is expected to reach 28.4 million cases in 2040, a 47% rise from 2020.[i] But we know early diagnosis and early treatment can change patients’ lives. 98% of breast cancer patients will survive for 5 or more years if diagnosed at the earliest stage, compared to just 25% of patients diagnosed at the most advanced stage.[ii] 90% of lung cancer patients will survive for at least a year if diagnosed in stage 1, but only 20% will when diagnosed in stage 4.[iii]

Screening, new detection methods and innovative treatments have already contributed to decreasing mortality in some cancers, and new technologies such as liquid biopsy and some early-stage interventions will reinforce the trend. Those developments mean we are closer than ever to achieving a new vision for cancer care. A future where cancer is detected and treated as early as possible, increasing people’s chances to live cancer-free.

We have a unique opportunity to transform the future of cancer care, but there is still much to be done to help people with cancer benefit from the better outcomes available through earlier stages of cancer care.

Health care systems need to get ready

As science and technology develop, health care systems must evolve as well. While we still lack consistent and interoperable data across Europe, especially outside of Northern and Western Europe, early evidence suggests that medicines in early-stage cancers are reimbursed less frequently and with greater delays than cancer medicines overall.[iv] Industry and governments should work together on access schemes to accelerate access to early-stage cancer medicines.

Investing in detecting and treating cancer early has the potential to save more lives and prove more cost-effective. Early diagnosis and treatment will be the most likely way to achieve long term freedom from disease for many patients. Where successful, early intervention will reduce the need for higher-cost treatments and care in later stages. In turn, this can help to reduce productivity losses associated with cancer.

Spending on cancer as a share of total health expenditure has been around 4–7 percent in Europe [1] over the past 20 years, but the composition of the spending has changed: expenditures on care for people staying in hospital have declined, while those on ambulatory care and cancer medicines have increased. This change is largely driven by today’s cancer therapies that have enabled shorter hospital stays, better side-effect management, quicker recovery, and potentially fewer cancer recurrences. In addition, innovative medicines made many previously untreatable patients eligible for therapies.[v]

Even when health care budgets are stretched, governments that prioritize early cancer care could therefore maintain a stable level of health care expenditure on cancer while improving survival by prioritising innovative therapeutics.

Accelerating equal access to care

Helping all patients have timely access to new detection and treatment methods in a way that works for them is key to driving better outcomes. Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan has already marked the way with various flagship initiatives in the field of early detection of cancer, cancer literacy, personalised medicines and its overall emphasis “to tackle the entire disease pathway”.[vi] The next step is the implementation by stakeholders, for example when it comes to the use of endpoints in clinical trials for innovative treatments which measure outcomes relevant to patients. Systematic screening and testing, consistent implementation of the latest clinical guidelines, and appropriate funding are also key.

“Ensuring faster patient access to innovative diagnostic tests and treatments for cancer across Europe is vital, and we must act?now both at the EU and national levels to?help save?lives.” - Antonella Cardone, CEO of Cancer Patients Europe.

The recent update to the Council Recommendation on Cancer Screening to improve existing programmes for breast, colorectal and cervical cancer and extend screening to lung, prostate and gastric cancer is a positive step. Complementing this, the upcoming Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation on vaccine-preventable cancers, due to be published in the second half of 2023, will propose actions to increase the uptake of vaccination against the Hepatitis B virus and human papillomaviruses in order to help reduce the burden of cancers caused by these viruses.

Ensuring access also means ensuring equal and equitable access – and Europe still falls short.

“Differences in availability and access to screening and innovative treatments across Europe mean that where you live can determine your chances of a cancer-free future.” – Dr. Nicoleta Antone, Head of Breast Cancer Center, Institute of Oncology, "Prof. Dr. Ion Chiricuta", Romania.

Improving cancer early detection rates across Europe is key. A recent study showed that breast cancer screening coverage is still lowest in Eastern European countries, at 49%. But if maximum coverage were reached, 23% of breast cancer deaths could be prevented in Eastern European countries, more than two times as much as in Northern European countries.[vii]

The European Cancer Inequalities Registry, one of the flagship initiatives under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, helps shed light on inequalities in cancer care in Europe and pave the way for the policy interventions and investment needed to overcome these. The Call to Action on Fighting lung cancer together as equals puts forward concrete multi-stakeholder actions for EU and national policymakers to enhance data collection on treatment rates and ensure their inclusion in the Cancer Inequalities Registry. At global level, the World Health Organization’s Global breast cancer initiative implementation framework , published earlier this year, provides stakeholders with systematic approaches that can that can facilitate health systems strengthening and reduce inequities in women’s health throughout their lives.

Cancer literacy can be a driver of change

People’s health literacy – their ability to access and understand health information – plays a critical role in their health outcomes. Those who get checked as soon as they notice a possible symptom and who are confident in evaluating all their care options are more likely to make informed health decisions. Our changed understanding of cancer requires changing peoples’ understanding of their health and empowering them through improving cancer literacy so that everyone can reap the benefits of early cancer care.

“The improvement of health literacy is a global public health concern. We need a radical change to empower people by designing health literate policies, services and systems – investment in health literacy saves time, money and lives.” – Kristine S?rensen, President of the International Health Literacy Association.

Improving cancer literacy, as outlined in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, would help people make decisions which concern their own health. For this we must recognise distinct cultural, linguistic and social factors affecting individuals and communities.

The time to act is now?

A fundamental shift is required globally to deliver on the potential of early cancer care consistently around the world and across all cancer types, through joint commitment and collective action.

Flagship policy initiatives in Europe and beyond, such as Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the US Cancer Moonshot strive to lead the way toward better cancer care and outcomes and the momentum for change is undoubtedly high.

We believe that connecting advocates globally around a shared vision for early cancer care will help us achieve this change, together.

Author: Mike Holmes, Vice President and Head, Global Oncology Medical Affairs, MSD

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[1] Including the EU, UK, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

[i] Sung H. et al. (2021) Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries, CA Cancer J Clin. 2021: 71: 209- 249. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21660?

[ii] Cancer Research UK,?Breast Cancer Statistics ; accessed November 2022

[iii] Cancer Research UK,?Why is early diagnosis important? ; accessed November 2022

[iv] Charles River Associates (2023) [Forthcoming] Medicines in early-stage cancers: a policy call to improve their access.

[v] Hofmarcher T. et al. (2019) Comparator Report on Cancer in Europe 2019, IHE Report 2019:7

[vi] European Commission (2021), Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan; COM (2021) 44 final

[vii] Zielonke N. et al. (2021) The potential of breast cancer screening in Europe, Int J Cancer 148(2): 406-18