Cancer epidemic in Europe predicts research due to pandemic and war in Ukraine

At least one million cancer diagnoses were not made in Europe during the two “lost” years of the pandemic, which could result in a European cancer “epidemic” within the next decade, warns an international panel of oncologists and other experts.

The scientists of the new panel of the prestigious medical journal “The Lancet Oncology”, led by Professor Mark Lawler of Queen’s University, Belfast, who made a relevant publication, emphasize that Covid-19 has highlighted a number of weaknesses both in the field of treatment and and cancer research in Europe, which if not treated early, there is a risk of delaying the treatment of cancer by almost a decade.

“We estimate that around one million cancer diagnoses were missed in Europe during the pandemic. We are racing against time to find these lost cancers. “In addition, we saw an alarming impact on cancer research, with laboratories closing and clinical trials delayed or canceled during the first wave of the pandemic,” said Dr. Lawler.

The European Groundshot report of the Lancet Oncology Commission, which was presented at the European Cancer Summit 2022, estimates that in the first year of the pandemic, doctors saw 1.5 million fewer cancer patients, while one in two cancer patients did not receive the necessary surgery or chemotherapy in time. Furthermore, 100 million diagnostic imaging tests for cancer were not carried out, with the result that up to one million Europeans may currently have undiagnosed cancer.

Beyond the coronavirus, the war in Ukraine has its own impact, given that Russia and Ukraine have always been two countries heavily involved in clinical cancer research. Dr. Andreas Charalambous, president of the European Cancer Agency, said that “while there has been extensive news coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the profound and ongoing impact on clinical cancer research has gone relatively unnoticed. There is already a widening East-West divide in European cancer research and it is crucial that the Russia-Ukraine war does not widen this gap further.”

The expert report found that in the previous decade 2010-2019 total investment in Europe for cancer research reached 20 to 22 billion euros, or about 26 euros per capita, compared to $80.5 billion (76 billion euros) or 234 per capita in the US during the same period. The committee recommends at least doubling cancer research in Europe to €50 per inhabitant by 2030, with an emphasis on improving prevention.

“It is estimated that 40% of cancers in Europe could be prevented if primary prevention strategies made better use of our current understanding of cancer risk factors. In addition, up to a third of cancer cases in Europe are more likely to have a better outcome if detected earlier,” said Anna Smuts of the France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

See the scientific publication here

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