In this Vital Health Podcast, host Duane Schulthess speaks with two leading European voices on oncology and health economics:

• Andreas Charalambous: Chair of Nursing at Cyprus University and Executive Board Member at MASCC, former President of the European Cancer Organization, Director of the Research Center for Oncology and Palliative Care at eOncoRise

• Lieven Annemans: Professor of Health Economics at Ghent University, past President of ISPOR

Together, they unpack why the EU’s Beating Cancer Plan and Cancer Mission remain only partially implemented and what it will take to turn commitments into action.

Key Topics

• Centralized vs. National Action: Why Europe still needs coordinated cancer strategies alongside national execution, and how fragmentation drives inertia.

• Costs, Rarity, and Value: The economics of small patient populations, return on investment, and why rare cancers demand inclusion in national plans.

• Prevention & Early Detection: How shifting budgets from treatment to prevention and screening offers long-term impact but little short-term political payoff.

• Equity & Access: Unequal survival rates between and within EU member states, limited medicine availability in countries like Greece, and the role of patient engagement.

• Data & Accountability: Calls for plan-do-check-act cycles, stronger measurement, and better digital health training for Europe’s cancer workforce.

• Financing & Long-Term Policy: Whether EU-level financing instruments should support health infrastructure, and why tackling social and commercial determinants could reshape outcomes over decades.

This episode offers a candid look at the complexity of cancer policy in Europe, exploring prevention, financing, innovation, and political realities that will define cancer care over the next decade.

Opinions expressed are those of the speakers, not the institutions listed. Podcast created with the support of Merck Sharp & Dohme. Recorded July 2025.