LONDON (Reuters), Sep 4 - Cancer care varies widely throughout Europe with large discrepancies in the number of specialists and facilities for patients, a survey by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) showed on Tuesday.
Iceland, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany have the highest number of oncologists -- experts who study, diagnose, and treat cancer -- for their populations and among the most facilities, while Eastern European nations have fewer specialist units.
"One thing the survey showed clearly is that the provision of cancer treatment varies significantly throughout Europe," said Professor Roberto Labianca, the chair of the ESMO MOSES Task Force which conducted the poll.
The poll of 34 countries, presented at the ESMO congress in Istanbul, Turkey, revealed differences in access to surgery, radiotherapy, drugs, information, and five-year survival rates.
Cancer is a leading killer with 2 million new cases and 1.2 million deaths reported in the European Union in 2004.
As many as one in three Europeans will be diagnosed with the disease at some time in their lives. Lung cancer is the biggest cause of cancer deaths.
An earlier study by Sweden's Karolinska Institute and the Stockholm School for Economics found big differences in treatment across Europe with Spain, Austria, and Switzerland quicker to adopt new drugs and Britain, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Norway, and Poland the slowest.
Labianca and his colleagues called for a multidisciplinary approach consisting of teams of surgeons, radiotherapists, and oncologist working together to treat patients.
By Patricia Reaney
Last Updated: 2006-10-03 15:57:20 -0400 (Reuters Health)
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