Social Inequalities in Cancer: The Policies of the European Commission

Abstract

Social inequalities are one of the determinants that have a multi-level impact on health and disease. As a consequence, they also impact the ways different social groups in a society perceive health and disease and how they use health care.

We present the different projects and initiatives that tackle the problems of social inequalities and cancer, and we draw attention to the fact that the distribution of health determinants largely follows the socioeconomic inequalities in our societies. As a consequence, they are then reflected in the development of cancer and patient survival.

In this chapter, we present the reasons why and how social inequalities impact the entire cancer trajectory of cancer prevention, diagnosis and care. We introduce and discuss the European Commission’s activities in the field of social inequalities. In that context, we also present and explain the 13 recommendations prepared in the course of the Joint Action CanCon (running from 2014 to 2017). We clearly stressed the importance of the spectrum of different actions and activities, all contributing to the comprehensiveness and efficiency of cancer control while reducing socioeconomic differences.

This should lead to a broader range of rights of cancer patients and their access to diagnosis, treatment, after-care, rehabilitation and supportive care, all according to each patient’s specific needs. These actions should contribute to a further reduction in socioeconomic differences in cancer within and between Member States. At the same time, an entire Mission in the new European research programme will be dedicated to cancer, which is another opportunity to prioritise research regarding this very important and burning issue.