EU wants screenings for more types of cancer as pandemic slashed check-ups

The European Commission is set to propose boosting regular screenings for cancer and expanding them to additional types of tumours, after check-ups fell dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, EU officials said on Wednesday.
Up to 1 million cancer patients in Europe are estimated to have gone undiagnosed as about 100 million screening tests were not performed in the first phase of the pandemic, EU data show.
With fewer screenings and many diagnosed patients delaying their surgical or chemotherapy treatment in hospital due to the pandemic, risks were growing that cancer would become the first cause of death in Europe in the next decade, EU officials said, ahead of circulatory and respiratory diseases.
To address this risk, the EU executive commission would issue new guidance on cancer screening on Sept. 21, EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides told reporters at a meeting of EU health ministers in Prague.
The current guidance dates back to nearly two decades ago, Kyriakides said.