Two common, deadly diseases. Two EU health plans forging a coordinated approach

The European Commission has solicited feedback on its proposal for a European Cardiovascular Health Plan. The European Cancer Organisation (ECO) recently responded, drawing on lessons it has learnt from efforts to control cancer.

Cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD) remain the leading causes of premature death across Europe, with almost identical mortality rates. According to WHO Europe, CVD accounts for 33.5% of premature deaths from noncommunicable diseases, while cancer causes 32.8%. Together, they represent a profound public health challenge – but also an opportunity: ensuring that Europe’s forthcoming Cardiovascular Health Plan is built on the successful model established by Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the EU Mission on Cancer to save or improve millions of lives.

Key recommendations submitted by ECO in its brief to the Commission include:

(a) Promote a common EU agenda on cancer/CVD prevention by restating major goals of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan:

• Health warnings on alcohol labels
• Mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling for food products
• Achieving a tobacco-free generation

(b) Address the co-morbidities of cancer and CVD, and the cardiovascular complications from cancer treatment. This could include:

• Taking the smartCARE project to full rollout and expanding it so that the new mobile and web applications address not only the medical and psycho-social aspects of cancer patients and survivors, but also those of cardiovascular patients and survivors
• Adding teaching modules on cardio-oncology within the unique multidisciplinary learning platform created by the INTERACT-EUROPE 100 INTERACT-EUROPE 100 project

ECO emphasised that disease-focused plans cannot exist in isolation. Cancer and CVD often overlap. Almost one in five cancer patients has cardiovascular disease, and some cancer treatments can create – or worsen – cardiovascular complications.

Responding effectively requires coordinated EU-level frameworks that bridge these realities. In this respect, the European Health Data Space would be a prime contributor.

Experience shows that successful disease plans are most effective when they share certain defining features:

• Setting ambitious goals, even if they appear unrealistic at first
• Measure and publicly report progress toward those goals
• Cover the entire disease pathway, from prevention to early detection, treatment, survivorship, and research
• Involve patients and healthcare professionals as partners in design and implementation
• Address persistent health inequalities, ensuring that no population is left behind

Other cancer/CVD synergies might be developed in areas such as disease survivorship, research agendas and patient access to precision medicine. These will be addressed in ECO’s forthcoming publications.

See ECO’s full response to the European Commission consultation here.