A call-to-action raising the critical need for focus on pancreatic cancer was announced today in the European Parliament.

This call-to-action, titled 'Giving a voice to pancreatic cancer', aims to ensure the inclusion of pancreatic cancer in national and European Union initiatives aimed at fighting cancer.

Members of the European Parliament Dr Philippe Juvin (EPP, France), Philippe De Backer (ALDE, Belgium), Françoise Grossetête (EPP, France) and Daciana Sârbu (S&D, Romania) are the four champions of this call to action, which was officially announced during an event on Pancreatic Cancer in the European Parliament.

At the event, MEPs Philippe de Backer and Francoise Grossetête, as well as recognised experts such as Francesco De Lorenzo, President of the European Cancer Patient Coalition (ECPC); Professor Matthias Löhr, Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Karolinska Institute; and Antoni Montserrat, Policy Officer for cancer and rare diseases, Directorate of Public Health for the European Commission spoke to the importance of the action in reversing the statistics for survival with the devastating disease.

During the last few decades, little progress has been made in improving outcomes for patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

According to Globocan, 103,845 people are currently affected by pancreatic cancer in Europe.  

The mortality of pancreatic cancer is high, making it the fourth deadliest cancer for both men and women, and that figure is expected to move to second position by 2020.

Patients diagnosed with metastatic disease have a median life expectancy, after diagnosis, of approximately three to six months.

Until recently, there were no new medications approved for pancreatic cancer in nearly seven years.

The Giving a Voice to Pancreatic Cancer Call-to-Action includes specific recommendations for EU member states, including:

• Ensuring pancreatic cancer is included in key European initiatives aiming at fighting cancer, with a focus on increasing research to better understand the disease, improving data collection, identifying tools for earlier diagnosis, providing educational programmes, and improving standard of care with a focus on active treatment.
• Ensuring that Member States include pancreatic cancer in their national cancer plans and in their health awareness programmes
• Encouraging the creation of a European pancreatic cancer multi-stakeholder platform, including patient representatives, academia, clinicians, policy-makers and the pharmaceutical industry, to help maximise European policy initiatives in view of the dramatic rise in pancreatic cancer mortality rates across Europe and to increase awareness at European and national levels.

Click here to learn more about the Call to Action

References

Globocan/IARC factsheet 2012: http://globocan.iarc.fr/Pages/fact_sheets_population.aspx[accessed Oct 2014].

Malvezzi M et al. Ann Oncol. 2013;24:792-800

Source: European Cancer Patient Coalition (ECPC)