Prostate cancer survival has improved in all European Union countries over the past decade.1 A number of factors have contributed to this increase in survival, including advances in the screening and diagnosis of the condition as well as across the treatment and care pathway.2
Despite this success story, there remains considerable variation in outcomes for those affected across Europe. Eastern European Union countries tend to achieve lower prostate cancer survival rates than Western European Union countries.1 Reduced levels of PSA testing over recent years are further likely to detrimentally impact the positive trend in prostate cancer survival longer term.3
Improvements in treatment and care offer important opportunities to enable those affected to live longer lives.2 It is therefore important that people with advanced prostate cancer have access to the right treatment and care at the right time via an adequate care pathway supported by multidisciplinary professionals.
1
Hofmarcher, T, et al, (2019) Comparator Report on Cancer in Europe 2019, IHE Report 2019:7. IHE: Lund, Sweden, accessible at https://www.efpia.eu/publications/cancer-comparator-report/cancer-types/prostate-cancer/
2
Van Poppel, H et al. White paper on Prostate Cancer, Recommendations for the EU Cancer Plan to tackle Prostate Cancer. European Association of Urology. 2020. Accessible at https://uroweb.org/wp-content/uploads/EAU-Prostate-Cancer-Pca-WhitePaper-Recommendation-for-Recommendations-for-the-EU-Cancer-Plan-May-2020.pdf (last accessed March 2022)
3
Van Poppel, H et al. Policy Paper on PSA Screening for Prostate Cancer. European Association of Urology. 2019. Accessible at http://epad.uroweb.org/wp-content/uploads/EAU_policy-briefing_PSA.pdf (last accessed March 2022)
