Monitoring inequalities in cancer prevention and care in Europe

The European Cancer Inequalities Registry (ECIR), a flagship initiative of the Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, was launched by EC President Ursula Van der Leyen in February 2022. The aim of the registry is to identify, communicate and monitor inequalities in cancer prevention and care across Europe. The ECIR data tool presents cancer-related indicators on cancer burden, from prevention, screening and early detection, to diagnosis, treatment and quality of life of patients and survivors. Where possible, the indicators are presented along six inequality dimensions: country, sex, age, education, employment status and urbanisation. Furthermore, this data tool is complemented with regular reporting mechanisms, factsheets, and a roadmap that presents data quality criteria and future, planned enhancements of the data tool. Stakeholders can always submit suggestions for additional indicators. The data already reveals important socio-economic and demographic inequalities in cancer prevention and care. For example, in most EU countries obesity, low intake of fruits and vegetables or physical inactivity tend to be more prevalent for groups with lower education, income, or those living in rural areas. The same applies to participation in cancer screening. For example, the EU average for women eligible for breast cancer screening that reported not to have ever had a mammography is 11%. However, in some EU countries, this percentage is more than double. It is highly likely this contributes to the unacceptable differences in breast cancer 5-year survival. In conclusion, there are still striking geographical and socio-economic disparities observed for cancer prevention, screening or treatment indicators. By transparently communicating such observed inequalities in Europe, the ECIR data tool can help guide future financial EU investments, identify best practices to effectively tackle these inequalities and also monitor the effectiveness of the new cancer policies. KEY MESSAGES: • Inequalities in cancer prevention and care are observed among EU countries. • ECIR helps to monitor cancer inequalities in Europe and guide financial investments.