Ulrika Årehed Kågström, President of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), Secretary General/Generalsekreterare at Cancerfonden, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“On site in Almedalen!
This year, I will talk a lot about an issue that should be much higher on the political agenda: how we ensure that research advances benefit cancer patients more quickly.
For people living with cancer, time is of the essence. Nevertheless, it often takes more than a decade before new research advances are translated into healthcare.
Clinical studies and trials can give seriously ill patients access to new treatments long before they are available in regular care. For some, it can mean the difference between life and death.
Therefore, it is worrying that Sweden is lagging behind. We are now ranked 16th out of 27 European countries when it comes to commercial clinical trials, and the trend is going in the wrong direction. The fact that Pfizer recently announced that it will not start new clinical trials in Sweden should be a clear signal to the government, with Minister for Research Lotta Edholm and Minister for Health Elisabet Lann at the forefront. More needs to be done.
This is about patients’ opportunities for better treatments and increased survival. But also about Sweden’s ability to be a leading life science nation.
During the week, I look forward to discussing the proposals that we from Cancerfonden have put forward and talking to representatives of healthcare, research, politics and business about how we can reverse the trend together. For cancer patients, we cannot afford to wait another decade.
Photo: Sanna Percivall/The Swedish Cancer Society.”
Other articles featuring Ulrika Årehed Kågström on OncoDaily.