The European Parliament adopted on 16 February 2022 its own-initiative report on “Strengthening Europe in the fight against cancer – towards a comprehensive and coordinated strategy”. This report proposes a wide range of actions and measures for reducing the burden of cancer on society.
During the drafting process, ESMO shared its feedback with many members of the BECA Committee, aiming to ensure that the needs of the oncology community are taken into account in the report.
Following the adoption that took place on 16 February, ESMO especially welcomes the inclusion of a new section on “Challenges of rare adult cancers” that proposes concrete measures to address the impact of rare adult cancers. Moreover, ESMO welcomes the points and references in the report highlighting the need for:
- A harmonised interpretation and implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including Recitals 33 and 157 of this legislation.
- Further measures aimed at encouraging the uptake and use of Joint Clinical Assessments that are to be carried out under the new Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Regulation.
- Reducing logistic and linguistic barriers faced by patients when accessing healthcare in another EU Member State.
- Preventing and managing shortages of all medicines and medical products, including shortages of inexpensive essential cancer medicines.
- Applying the Clinical Trials Regulation in a consistent manner in all EU Member States with the aim of rationalising procedures for carrying out clinical research.
Now that the report has been officially adopted, ESMO is committed to work with the European Commission and the EU Member States on realising the proposals set out in the report, for the benefit of patients and society at large.