BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Union said Thursday that cancer screenings across the continent must double to meet minimum standards adopted by member states in 2003.
An EU report said cancer is the second most common cause of death after heart problems, leading to two out of every ten deaths for women and three out of every ten for men in 2006. Yet less than half of the minimum recommended screenings take place each year.
"Investing in cancer-screening programs will pay long-term dividends," said European Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou.
Every year about 3.2 million of some 500 million Europeans are diagnosed with cancer. In 2006, 90,000 women died of breast cancer, 15,000 of cervical cancer and 68,000 of colorectal cancer. That same year 78,000 men died of colorectal cancer.
EU countries that have implemented large-scale screening programs have seen reductions of breast cancer mortality of up to 35 per cent and reductions of the incidence of cervical cancer of up to 80 per cent. Such screening for colorectal cancer is still comparatively new, but pilot programs in Britain and Finland are ongoing.
The report calls on the 27 member countries to improve large-scale screening programs for target groups regardless of their symptoms. Twenty-two member states have such programs for breast cancer, 15 for cervical cancer and 12 for colorectal cancer.
