Report on the Implementation of the 2003 Council Recommendation on cancer screening
Every year, 3.2 million Europeans are diagnosed with cancer. It has been found that by screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers (which made up 32% of cancer deaths in women and 11% in men in 2006) the disease can be detected in much earlier stages than it would otherwise. This, in turn, gives patients a much higher chance of survival and of having effective treatment and a higher quality of life. Therefore, in 2003, the Council made a commitment to the citizens of the European Union by adopting a Recommendation on cancer screening (2003/878/EC), which set up common breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening guidelines for all EU countries.
The Report found that much has been done to attain high standards of screening practices across the EU. However, less than half of the minimum number of recommended examinations are taking place, and not always within the organisational framework necessary to ensure thorough quality assurance. What is more, only 22 of the 27 EU countries are running population-based screening programmes for breast cancer, only 15 for cervical cancer and 12 for colorectal cancer. It is therefore necessary that additional efforts to improve and maintain high quality screening programmes are made at both Member State and Community level. Collaboration with professional, organisational and scientific bodies, as well as between Member States is key to achieving these objectives. By providing a clear overview of the situation, this Report will encourage Member States to renew their efforts to fulfil the commitments laid down in the Recommendation.
In order to meet the health challenges caused by cancer across the Union, the Commission also intends to form a European partnership for action against cancer next year, which will support the Member States in their efforts to more efficiently tackle cancer by providing a framework for identifying and sharing information, capacity, and expertise in cancer prevention and control, and by bringing together relevant stakeholders across the EU in a collective effort to addressing cancer.
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Additional information can be found on:
The Council Recommendation of 2 December 2003 on cancer screening
European guidelines for quality assurance in cervical cancer screening
European guidelines for quality assurance in breast cancer screening and diagnosis