A cancer patient has a higher survival rate if he is diagnosed in Germany rather than in Slovenia… Survival after cancer diagnosis in Europe is directly associated with the level of wealth and health spending in different European states according to a study Belgian, presented at the 2013 European Cancer Congress (ECC2013) and published simultaneously in the Annals of Oncology.
And as Pink October begins, this study specifies that this is especially the case after a breast cancer diagnosis.
Dr Ades, oncologist at the Breast European Adjuvant Studies Team (BrEAST), a Belgian oncology research center, explains in a press release: ” The breast cancer is the best example of the benefits of cancer screening. Thus, screening has been shown to reduce mortality. We have seen that the link between standard of living and health expenditure with the breast cancer mortality rate was much higher than for other cancers (…) In addition, the ratio of deaths to diagnosed cases of breast cancer remains lower in Western European countries than in Eastern European countries ”.
More generally, all cancers are affected by disparities between more or less wealthy European countries.
In countries that spend less than $ 2,000 per capita on health care (Romania, Poland, Hungary), around 60% of patients die after being diagnosed with cancer. In countries that spend between $ 2,500-3,500 (Portugal, Spain and UK), the rate is around 40% and 50%. Finally, in countries that spend $ 4,000 or more (France, Belgium and Germany), less than 40% of patients die after being diagnosed with cancer.
To compare each country’s GDP per capita with the cancer survival rate, the researchers compared the share of GDP invested in health, health expenditure per capita per year, and estimated death rates. after a cancer diagnosis.
Source: AlphaGalileo Foundation
