Cancer Research - Europa

Prevention
The fact that preventing the onset of a cancer is among the best treatment options is a well established
and shared fundamental concept within the oncology community. Moreover it is widely
accepted that the majority of cancers could be preventable.
The understanding of the extremely complex cancer aetiology is clearly the base for any prevention
and treatment strategy to be eff ective. Regrettably, despite all the information available, still the rate
of cure of tumours remains generally very low.
When prevention is considered it is not only a matter of deepening the scientifi c knowledge. This
information has to be given a pragmatic value via a synergy with public health, education and support
initiatives. The general population and the stakeholders in the capacity of taking such potentially
eff ective actions have to be thoroughly and extensively educated.
Furthermore, when a cause is identifi ed as potentially capable to have a strong correlation with the
induction of a cancer, any action aimed at removing that cause should be carefully monitored to
assess its real effi cacy. This process has already brought in the past to the achievement of impressive
and positive results connected with the measures taken in order to tackle the negative eff ects of
smoking, alcohol and dietary intake.
Three EU funded projects foster the integration of the aetiology of cancer with preventive measures.
These are: the Coordination Action (CA) ‘EPIC’ aimed at the production of a large mass of data potentially
relevant for the identifi cation of nutritional and environmental causes of cancer with the clear
objective of establishing enhanced public health strategies for the prevention of cancer and other
chronic diseases; the CA ‘EUROCADET’ aimed at underpinning and promote the implementation of
European and national policies to prevent cancer and the Specifi c Targeted Project (STREP) ‘MAMMI’
aimed at enhancing early detection methodologies for breast cancer based on beyond-state-of-the–art
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging methodologies.
Alfredo Cesario