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Breaking barriers: addressing inequalities in cancer prevention and care

On 17 June 2025, the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies hosted a webinar session dedicated to addressing inequalities in cancer prevention and care. The event featured a keynote on OBS-PACE as an example of strengthening cancer research and care through cross-country collaboration. The main panel involved speakers from multiple EU countries and high-level institutions such as DG SANTE (European Commission), followed by an interactive Q&A session from the audience.

At its core, the Learning from Progress in Addressing Cancer in Europe (OBS-PACE) project builds on an international network of cancer experts to identify good practices, barriers and enablers to inform EU and national cancer policies and investments. This online webinar presented learnings from this action by focusing on innovative cancer-related policies, while taking a closer look at the health system enablers and barriers that shaped their implementation so that countries can learn from vital experiences. You can now watch it online on our website or YouTube channel.

With thanks to Béatrice Durvy (European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies & Technical University Berlin, Germany), Antun Aboud (University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Croatia), Lidia Villanova (Alliance Against Cancer, Italy), Maria Gillespie (Health Service Executive, Ireland), Domenico Fiorenza Glanzmann (DG SANTE, European Commission) as well as Florian Tille (European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies) and Louise Junge (Technical University Berlin) for moderating the session.

This webinar was part of an Observatory Spotlight Series on beating cancer in Europe called “Breaking Barriers”, out of which two more webinars have been made available.

Network meeting

In March 2025, the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies hosted a network meeting in Brussels with Sciensano (the National Public Health Institute of Belgium) dedicated to the EU-funded OBS-PACE Project: “OBS-Learning from Progress in Addressing Cancer in Europe”.

National and international cancer experts from ministries of health, public health institutes, cancer societies, patient organizations and academia all across the EU gathered to discuss published case studies and outline the next steps of the OBS-PACE project. Attendees looked at initiatives in cancer care and policies at local, regional and national levels, and collectively explored opportunities for cross-country collaboration within the project.

After opening remarks by the Observatory’s director Ewout van Ginneken along with Vittoria Carraro (DG SANTE) and Tit Albreht (OriON Joint Action), participants shared case studies of cancer activities developed in their countries and brainstormed on cross-country themes in cancer research, care and policies. Topics included:

• next generation case studies of innovative actions in cancer research, care and policy;
• country activities in defined areas such as cancer prevention, early detection and diagnostics, cancer care and quality of life; and
• future directions for the project, including the launch of OBS-PACE website and a presentation into its features, framework and resources.

This meeting was held with the support of EU Health and Food Safety European Commission and OriON Joint Action and represented a key opportunity for the Observatory to continue building on its contributions to Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan (EBCP), national cancer mission hubs and the EU Cancer Mission overall.