PD 02 - Managing the Next Decade in Cancer

In the next decade medical progress in treating cancer will potentially redefine life with this disease. Upcoming innovations will improve the treatment in many cancers. Further, better understanding and new forms of research due to e.g. “Big Data” will make us know “which drugs to give to which patients” and which treatment will be most effective and best for patients. The health care systems will have to meet the challenge to ensure fast access to these innovations: By 2030, the global burden of cancer is expected to grow to 21.7 million new cancer cases and 13 million cancer deaths simply due to the growth and aging of the population.

But recent OECD publications show a growing inequality around the world – the drivers are globalization, skill-biased technological change and changes in countries’ policy approaches. Inequalities in health status are due to many factors, including differences in living and working conditions and in behavioral factors, but also in access to and quality of health care. Despite significant progress in most countries, access to quality health care varies across the socio-demographic groups, including by sex, age, geographic area and for financial and non-financial reasons.

These growing inequalities lead to a poor translation of innovation in cancer care into health care systems in diverse communities, it hampers the impact of innovative treatments and precision medicine advances.