The European Union (EU)’s policy agenda is entering a new phase, one increasingly shaped by three interlinked drivers: the pace of innovation, evolving security and resilience challenges, and pressures on economic and fiscal sustainability. While some might argue that health – and more specifically, cancer – policy has been surpassed by other policy priorities, the EU’s current policy focus is opening new avenues to embed cancer care and life sciences more firmly into Europe’s broader policy framework.
Together, these developments point to a new phase in EU cancer policy, one where innovation, health system resilience, and fiscal and economic sustainability are increasingly intertwined. Cancer should not be overshadowed by the competing priorities of innovation, security and sustainability policy. On the contrary, it is clear that cancer policy is not only a fundamental element of these domains, but also a driver and reinforcer of what the EU is trying to achieve in its long-term strategic agenda.
The challenge now is to ensure that cancer continues to benefit from, and helps shape, this evolving policy landscape.
In this context, the seventh edition of the European Cancer Forum (ECF) gathered leading policymakers, healthcare professionals, academia representatives, and industry experts in Brussels on 4 December 2025 to ensure that progress is not only sustained but also that cancer remains prioritized in the EU agenda, while maintaining strategic alignment with broader health and innovation initiatives.
Opening the event was Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, Oliver Varheyli and other senior high level engagement came with Stella Kyriakides (former EU Health Commissioner), Antonio Parenti (EU Commission lead on Cardiovascular Health Plan and Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan), and Andras Kulja (senior Member of the European Parliament in healthcare) in panels and in bilateral meetings on MSD’s strategic oncology and cardiovascular priorities. Phillippe Lamberts, Principle Advisor to the President of the EU, also gave an a personal and moving speech about cancer and the importance of keeping our focus on this agenda in the EU.
Under the theme “Innovation, security and sustainability: Shaping the future of cancer care”, the 7th ECF served as a critical platform for dialogue across sectors, sparking discussions on how the EU can navigate new and emerging complex dynamics, developing robust policy and regulatory frameworks that foster innovation, support equitable access to care, and align health policy with the block’s broader security concerns – ensuring cancer care remains a top priority in the future of European healthcare.
The seventh edition of the ECF was hosted by MSD in partnership with the European Oncology Nursing Society (EONS), Cancer Patients Europe (CPE), Lung Cancer Europe (LuCE), Digestive Cancers Europe (DICE), All.Can International and the Swedish Institute for Health Economics (IHE).
