Tracking Inequalities in Cancer
The European Cancer Pulse puts a spotlight on inequalities throughout the cancer pathway due to gender, socioeconomic status or other social determinants and illustrates where researchers and policy-makers must take effective action. Disparities displayed in the Pulse include cancer burden, prevention efforts, research spending, diagnosis, and treatment access.
We brought the European Cancer Pulse throughout Europe in 2024. Watch our video below to learn more.
Click on the map below to access the tool.
What is the European Cancer Pulse?
The main objectives are:
- providing easy and public access to wide-ranging, currently fragmented data intelligence on cancer inequalities;
- amplifying data and initiatives from across the cancer community on quantifying and tackling cancer inequalities. This includes ongoing collaboration of the European Cancer Pulse with the EU Cancer Inequalities Registry;
- fostering political attention to all determinants of cancer inequalities and ambitious policies addressing them;
- identifying and filling gaps in data intelligence on cancer inequalities;
- raising awareness of the full extent of cancer inequalities within the wider stakeholder community.
Improved features
The European Cancer Pulse is regularly updated and includes an array of new features:
- A concise benchmark of cancer care performance in countries of the WHO European Region. Select one or multiple indicators to reveal disparities across and within countries.
- Enhanced visuals: complex data simplified as interactive, colour-coded maps and bar charts illustrating how countries perform, and which ones are meeting major policy objectives.
- Download the data: stored on your computer and use it for analysis and presentations.
Explanatory videos on how to use the tool
Raising awareness and prompting recognition of existing inequalities
Disparities in cancer care persist within and between countries throughout Europe due to peoples’ social background. A person’s health should not differ according to where they were born or live. The European Cancer Pulse was designed under the umbrella of ECO’s Inequalities Network.
The European Cancer Pulse informs policy action
Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan has laid strong foundations, yet data from the European Cancer Pulse shows that policy-makers need to accelerate momentum.
The European Cancer Roadmap to 2030 calls for data-driven actions to ensure equity across the cancer pathway. The Pulse supported the Roadmap by:
- benchmarking European countries’ performance on each indicator;
- identifying where momentum needs to accelerate to achieve cancer policy goals;
- providing the evidence base to the European Cancer Manifesto.
The Pulse is also important for our National and European Parliamentarians for Cancer Action group as it feeds into their activities, with the aim to tackle inequalities in cancer on a national and European basis. Click on the logos below to learn more.
