Launched in 1989, the Eurocare project is the largest research project on survival after cancer that brings together all European countries. The fifth edition of this project, dubbed Eurocare-5, collected data from 29 European countries and compared the 5-year survival rates of 9 million adults and over 60,000 children with cancer between 2000 and 2007. It shows that the survival rates of cancer patients continue to improve in Europe, but that significant disparities remain between the countries of Eastern Europe and the rest of Europe.
According to the results of this study, published in the journal the Lancet Oncology, a third of cancers observed between 2000 and 2007 had a survival rate of over 80%: they are mainly testicular cancers (88%), thyroid (86%) and prostate (83%). In contrast, the 5-year survival rate was less than 25% for pancreatic cancers, pleura, liver, esophagus, lungs and of the brain.
The survival rate also varies greatly between countries in Europe. Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal and Spain are clearly doing well while the United Kingdom and Denmark are lagging behind, mainly in due to late diagnoses. Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia) also remain at the back of the pack, with survival rates significantly below the European average, including for certain cancers with a good prognosis. According to the authors of the study, these countries mainly suffer from a lack of public funding, inadequate screening programs and outdated treatment protocols.
However, the situation has also improved overall in Europe for children, with a 5-year survival rate ranging from 80% to 70% depending on the country. The most dramatic advances appear to have been made in the treatment of leukemia and some lymphomas.
