This report was prepared by the cancer team at the Health Division of the OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs. It was funded by the European Union (EU) as part of the European Cancer Inequalities Registry – a flagship initiative of the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. Co‑operation with the European Commission’s Directorate‑General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) was instrumental to production of the report. Oscar Brito-Fernandes, Niek Klazinga, Dionne Sofia Kringos-Pereira Martins, Eileen Rocard and Hazal Yilmaz also contributed to the report as external consultants.
The project benefited from input from a range of stakeholders, including the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the International Agency Against Cancer (IARC), the Swedish Institute for Health Economics (IHE), the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI), Deutsche Krebshilfe (German Cancer Aid), Cancer Patients Europe (CPE), Choosing Wisely, Ending discrimination against cancer survivors, the European Cancer Organisation (ECO), the Accreditation Council of Oncology in Europe (ACOE), the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) and IQVIA. All information and data related to the research initiative EuroACT led by EPAI and WECAN Foundation analysing the clinical trial landscape across Europe has been provided by the European Patient Advocacy Institute, with support from the Syreon Research Institute. The data have been anonymised and are presented in an aggregated format to ensure the confidentiality and protection of sensitive information.
This report benefited from comments from and discussions with OECD and EU country representatives and OECD colleagues. The cancer team is grateful for the valuable input received from national experts, and comments provided by the OECD Health Committee, the OECD Working Party of Health Care Quality and Outcomes, and the EU Expert Thematic Group on Cancer Inequalities Registry, as well as various other stakeholders who participated in interviews and provided additional information (including the European Association for Palliative Care, All.Can, the World Health Organization, the European Society of Radiotherapy and Oncology, the European Society for Medical Oncology, the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership, the ATLANTES Global Palliative Care Observatory, the European Network of Cancer Registries, the Observational Health Data Science and Informatics, the CONCORD programme, the European Oncology Nursing Society and the European Regional and Local Health Authorities Working Group on Cancer). This publication would not have been possible without the efforts of national data correspondents who have provided data to the OECD, as well as the 34 countries that provided valuable responses to the 2025 OECD Policy Survey on High Value Cancer Care. The publication benefited from comments from DG SANTE, JRC, and IARC. We are also very grateful to the patient representatives who shared their personal experiences to be featured in the report.
The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the OECD Member countries or the European Union Institutions.