On World Cancer Day, February 4, 2025, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released the 2025 Country Cancer Profiles, providing updated insights into cancer incidence, prevention, and care across European countries. These profiles highlight both strengths and challenges in cancer care, aiming to guide investments and interventions under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.
Key Findings:
Cancer Incidence: In 2022, there were approximately 2.78 million new cancer cases in the EU27, Iceland, and Norway, equating to about five new diagnoses every minute. Countries with the highest incidence rates include Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and Croatia. Every minute, cancer kills more than two people in the EU.
In 2022, three cancer sites (prostate, colorectal and lung) accounted for 51% of all age-standardised cancer cases in men in the EU. A similar share of 51% of cancers among women were caused by breast, colorectal and lung cancer, with breast cancer accounting for the majority, or 30% of all cancer cases.
Colorectal cancer accounted for a similar proportion of all cancers among men (14%) and women (12%). In contrast, lung cancer accounted for a greater proportion of cancer cases among men (14%) than women (9%), related to higher smoking prevalence among men over time.
On average in the EU from 2011 to 2021, avoidable mortality rates decreased for breast cancer by 16% among women and for colorectal cancer by 17%, for both men and women. These decreases suggest improvements in diagnosis and treatment for both cancers. Cancer prevalence in the EU increased by a quarter in the last 10 years, as improvements in early detection and treatment have increased cancer survival.
From 2010 to 2020 the average age-standardised lifetime cancer prevalence in the EU increased by 24%.
The relative increase in cancer prevalence was highest in Latvia (45%), Lithuania (41%) and Estonia (39%). Conversely, prevalence increases were lowest in Austria (13%), Iceland (16%) and France (17%).
Trends in prevalence are influenced by increased cancer incidence and survival, in addition to demographic changes (De Angelis et al., 2024[9]). Looking forward, increased population ageing and further improvements in cancer survival will lead to higher cancer prevalence and more people living with a history of cancer, calling for investment in quality of life and survivorship programmes.
In virtually all EU countries, national cancer plans align with Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
Overall, national cancer plans in EU+2 countries are aligned with the four pillars of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan (EBCP): Prevention, Early detection, Diagnosis and treatment, and Quality of life.
All countries reported having a section of their national cancer plan that is focused on the Prevention pillar, with the exception of Cyprus, and all have a section dedicated to Diagnosis and treatment. There is more variability with regards to alignment of national cancer plans with the transversal themes established by the EBCP (Paediatrics, Inequalities and Research and innovation). France, Poland, Spain and Sweden had a section specifically focused on each transversal theme of the EBCP in their national cancer plans and the majority of countries had a national cancer plan with a section focused on Research and innovation. However, only about half of countries had sections specifically focused on Paediatric cancer and two countries did not address this topic in their plans. Furthermore, most countries lacked a specific section in their national plans around cancer inequalities, with two countries not covering the topic at all.
Although countries are investing in prevention, additional efforts are needed to reduce the key cancer risk factors
In 2021, EU countries spent an average of 6.1% of their health spending on prevention policies, such as informational and educational campaigns, healthy condition monitoring, and disease surveillance (4.6% in 2022). This reflects a substantial increase from spending levels of about 3% between 2014-19, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, much of the increase in recent years is attributed to spending on vaccination and personal protective equipment, rather than wide-ranging public health initiatives aimed at improving underlying population health.
Overall, this report shows that there is much work to be done to address the increasing burden of cancer and inequalities: investing in comprehensive prevention policies and ensuring widespread reach of screening and early diagnosis will make a major dent in Europe’s cancer trends in the years to come. Inclusive approaches to cancer prevention and cancer control policies – with particular emphasis on vulnerable groups – should be scaled up to improve the health and well-being of all Europeans. This requires investment in comprehensive, quality cancer registries – linked to data from screening programmes and on individuals’ socio-economic status – to provide timely insight on cancer control efforts across the population.
