Report from the 2019 European Cancer Summit

Led by the European Cancer Organisation, the 2019 European Cancer Summit convened on 12-14 September 2019 in Brussels, bringing together leaders and stakeholders in cancer care, research, patient advocacy and the public-private sectors, in a unique forum.

The Summit developed the theme ‘European Cancer Care: Across Borders’ – that looks to the 70:35 Vision for cancer, aiming to achieve 70% average long-term survival for patients with cancer by 2035. Delivering on this ambitious goal requires that we break down the borders of cancer care to encourage broad cooperation: across countries, professions, sectors and stakeholders. The Summit was a comprehensive platform for debate and engagement on these issues. 

Informative sessions explored border-busting themes such as the impacts of Artificial Intelligence on various areas of cancer care, how to better provide cancer treatment across borders, the current status in respect to cancer patients being able to participate in clinical trials in other countries and issues of professional specialisation and cross-border mobility of cancer experts.

The Summit also passed a powerful resolution on eliminating cancers caused by HPV as a public health problem in Europe and a motion on creating a truly successful and all-encompassing EU Cancer Mission.

Looking to the future, new paradigms for achieving treatment optimisation in cancer were debated, alongside new models to create sustainability for the cost of cancer medicines and the potentially revolutionary possibilities for cancer care from greater use of molecular testing.