MEPs urged to act in article by prostate cancer expert group

Representatives of prostate cancer patients and European urologists have made an urgent call for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to back an EU Election Manifesto, committing to push prostate cancer up the political agenda – and ensure that everyone gets detection and treatment at the right time.

In an opinion piece published in The Parliament Magazine, André Deschamps from Europa Uomo and Hendrik Van Poppel from the European Association of Urology stress the growing impact of prostate cancer in Europe and appeal for European and national policymakers to act now.

They draw attention to “very slow traction” in early detection programmes in Europe, despite the European Council’s decision to extend screening to include prostate cancer in 2022. Pilot projects in Italy and the Czech Republic are steps in the right direction but “it simply isn’t enough,” they write. The new EU 2024-2029 mandate presents a “prime opportunity” for change.

“To effect truly meaningful change, we need to see broader, more harmonised implementation of screening recommendations across the EU. Prostate cancer must be made a priority.” As members of the Let’s Talk Prostate Cancer (LTPC) Expert Group, André Deschamps and Hendrik Van Poppel urge MEPs to commit to tackling the issues together by signing up to the LTPC 2024 EU Election Manifesto, launched in October 2023.

LTPC activities are funded by Astellas Pharma Inc, Amgen Inc and Pfizer Inc.