World Cancer Day 2014: JRC research in the field
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) has joined the efforts of this year’s World Cancer Day in aiming to reduce stigma and debunk the myths about cancer. The campaign highlights the objective of raising awareness and encouraging governments and individuals around the globe to take action and develop strategies to fight cancer.
The JRC has co-ordinated two projects: the development of a harmonised cancer information system for Europe and the setting up of a European voluntary quality assurance scheme for breast cancer care.
Around 7.6 million people die from cancer annually. Strengthening health systems and delivering effective programmes could save lives as projections point to 6 million premature deaths per year by 2025. Within the EU, 2.6 million citizens were affected by some sort of cancer in 2012. Reliable and comparable data on the disease is therefore an important driver to design policies to improve prevention and care for all stages of cancer.
The development of a cancer information system for the EU, in close co-operation with, among others, the European Network of Cancer Registries, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the European Partnership Action Against Cancer, will also provide a valuable resource for cancer epidemiological research allowing for greater understanding of the differences and related causes in population-based studies.
Following a survey on how different health care systems and breast cancer services – including screening, quality management issues, and training requirements for staff – are organised across the EU, the JRC is setting up a European voluntary quality assurance scheme for breast cancer care.
The scheme takes into account all stages of breast cancer care, from screening to diagnosis, surgery, treatment and post-treatment, including rehabilitation, psychosocial and palliative care. In parallel, the JRC is developing a platform of evidence underpinning the quality assurance scheme including the New Edition of the European Guidelines for Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis.
