Introduction to the Supplement ‘Coming together to fight cancer: a series of policy briefs taking stock of the implementation of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan in Belgium’

TL;DR

This supplement presents policy briefs from Belgium's national group working to implement Europe's cancer strategy, highlighting key actions needed in the country's cancer response.

Contribution

Belgium's dedicated national platform for implementing the EU's cancer plan is showcased through eight policy briefs.

Findings

Belgium has established a national stakeholder platform to support the EU's Beating Cancer Plan.

Eight policy briefs were developed to address pressing cancer-related needs in Belgium.

The briefs consider both national interventions and Belgium's participation in European cancer projects.

Abstract

Cancer is one of the main public health challenges globally. In Europe, it is also the second leading cause of mortality and incidence is likely to increase from nearly 4 million cases per year in 2020 to over 5 million new cases per year by 2040. Recognizing the urgency of tackling the entire disease pathway and supporting European Union (EU) Member States (MS), the European Commission (EC) launched two major initiatives: Europe's Beating Cancer Plan (EBCP) and the Mission on Cancer (MoC). Belgium is one of the few EU MS that has set up a dedicated structure, known as the Belgian EBCP Mirror Group (MG), to support the implementation of the EU strategy against cancer. The MG is a large national stakeholder platform coordinated by the Cancer Centre at Sciensano (Belgian Institute of Health). This Supplement between includes eight policy briefs developed by the MG on the most pressing needs to address in the Belgian cancer field. The policy briefs take into account relevant interventions at national level as well as Belgium's participation in European projects as of 2021-2023.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13690-024-01383-5.

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