UK Falling behind Europe in the fight against cancer

On a variety of fronts, the UK is underperforming

5 April, London – In the fight against cancer, the United Kingdom has a long history of leadership. New data released today, however, paint a very different and troubling picture.

The much anticipated 'UK Country Report', part of a vast dataset compiled by the European Cancer Organisation (ECO) and its digital resource, the European Cancer Pulse, reveals a lack of collaboration between the UK and the EU on health policy and highlights several core issues within the UK's own health systems.

Key issues outlined by the report, developed in collaboration with Cancer Research UK, include:

• England lacks a dedicated Cancer Control Plan, considered an essential benchmark for all European countries to implement cancer policy.
• No UK nation is on-track to reach their ‘smokefree’ targets of less than 5% tobacco smokers[1].
• Obesity is the second-biggest cause of cancer in the UK. Yet, the UK has a higher childhood obesity rate than any other Western European country - more than twice the rate of France for instance, and little is being done to address this.
• The UK has a higher rate of cancer cases than Europe, on average, but proportionally fewer cancer workers and less equipment to treat them, with widespread shortages across cancer professions throughout the UK.

"This is a stunning wake-up call for everyone living in the United Kingdom – and for anyone concerned about a cancer diagnosis one day," said Prof. Mark Lawler, ECO Board Member for 2020-23, Co-Chair of the ECO Special Network on Emergencies and Crises, and Professor of Digital Health at Queen's University Belfast, "Cancer knows no border. Europe is investing €5 billion to collaborate on health policy - meanwhile, the UK is not part of the effort and faces a brain drain of cancer researchers since Brexit. These latest findings show that European collaboration on cancer and healthcare must become a government priority, and quickly."

To editors and journalists:  Please find a one-page country summary, with an array of key findings, in attached.  Should you wish a phone or television interview with Prof Mark Lawler or any members of the European Cancer Organisation, please contact:

Alvaro Jimber

Communication Officer

European Cancer Organisation

alvaro.jimber@europeancancer.org

+32 465 64 25 73

About the European Cancer Organisation

The European Cancer Organisation is the largest multi-professional cancer organisation in Europe. It works to reduce the burden of cancer, improve outcomes and the quality of care through a multi-disciplined and multi-professional approach. As a not-for-profit federation of member organisations, the European Cancer Organisation convenes oncology professionals and patients to agree on policy, advocate for change and speak up for the European cancer community. More information is available here.

About the European Cancer Manifesto

'Time to Accelerate: Together Against Cancer' is a manifesto of recommendations for the future of European cancer policy in 2024-2029. The manifesto was unveiled by the European Cancer Organisation on 15 November 2023 during the European Cancer Summit. Supported by over 100 organisations across Europe, it calls for the UK to urgently join the EU4Health programme, enabling tangible EU-UK collaboration on health and cancer policy progress. More information is available here.

About ‘Longer, better lives: A manifesto for cancer research and care’

Developed by Cancer Research UK, the manifesto sets out the measures and commitments the next UK government can make to help prevent 20,000 cancer deaths every year by 2040. Some of its priority actions include making the UK smokefree and implementing UK legislation on food advertising restrictions. More information is available here.

[1] UK nations’ ‘smokefree’ targets: average adult smoking rates 5% or lower by 2030 (England and Wales) or 2034 (Scotland)