On Tuesday 20 September, the European Commission unveiled its proposals to update European guidelines setting out best practice in cancer screening under the Union for Health. The current recommendations under Council Recommendation 2003/878/EC are now 19 years old.
Presenting the text, the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides stressed the principles of equality and access, as well as efforts to be undertaken for early diagnosis.
“We want to test more and test better”, said the Commissioner. This is reflected in the European Commission’s suggestion of an ambitious target of offering breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening to 90% of the eligible population by 2025. This is also reflected in a proposal for more targeted screening and an extension of the screening programme for three additional types of cancer (lung, prostate, stomach).
More targeted screening. The proposal recommends extending the target group for breast cancer screening to women aged 45-74 (the current target population for breast cancer screening is women aged 50-69). For cervical cancer screening, the proposal calls for human papillomavirus (HPV) screening for women aged 30-65 years on the basis of every 5 years or longer instead of the current smear tests for women aged 20-30 years. The European Commission wants to promote vaccination against HPV under the age of 15.
Extended scope of screening. Taking into account current knowledge, the proposals for targeted screening are further extended to three additional types of cancer in specific populations. Lung cancer screening would be offered to heavy smokers and ex-smokers who are aged 50 to 75. Prostate cancer screening would be offered to men up to the age of 70, in accordance with certain criteria, after specific testing and medical imaging. Finally, the proposed new recommendation includes screening and monitoring for Helicobacter pilori and precancerous stomach lesions in areas where these cancers are prevalent and result in a high death rate.
The proposal also recommends that the latest scientific knowledge is taken into account by favouring the least invasive screening techniques.
According to the European Commission, this proposal for a revised recommendation is based on the latest scientific evidence that is focused on individuals, and is the result of recommendations made by the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors. A 2017 evaluation report and the ‘European Guide on Quality Improvement in Comprehensive Cancer Control’ identified areas for improvement in the current recommendation.
The implementation of the entire ‘cancer plan’ is supported by €4 billion of EU funding.
Specific financial support has been announced for the screening. Commissioner Kyriakides announced €30 million in European financial support for the EU4Health programme, which is intended to strengthen, monitor and to implement innovative approaches to breast, cervical and stomach cancers. EUR 8.5 million is foreseen to implement European guidelines and for quality control of breast and colorectal cancer. EUR 60 million is available under Horizon Europe for developing new screening and early technologies. Member States have the option to use the tools of the Cohesion Policy and the ‘Recovery and Resilience Facility’. The Commissioner announced that additional funding would be put in place by 2023.
Link to the proposal: https://aeur.eu/f/36m (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)