Lung Cancer Europe at the World Cancer Series Europe 2026
On 8 June 2026, Lung Cancer Europe President Debra Montague will join a high-level panel in Brussels at the 11th annual World Cancer Series Europe, hosted by Economist Enterprise. The session, “Lung Cancer Control in Europe,” closes the first day of this major international summit, bringing together policymakers, clinicians, patient groups, and health system leaders from across the continent.
The 40-minute, Q&A-led discussion will explore a central and urgent question: how do we reduce lung cancer deaths across Europe? Debra will join Yannick Romero, Senior Knowledge and Advocacy Manager at UICC, and Jan van Meerbeeck, Honorary Professor of Pulmonology at Antwerp and Ghent Universities and Senior Consultant Thoracic Oncologist at Antwerp University Hospital, to address the structural, political, and equity challenges that continue to cost lives.
The cost of late diagnosis
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the EU, accounting for around one in five cancer deaths across the region. Yet 50 to 70% of people with lung cancer in Europe are still diagnosed at stage IV, where the five-year survival rate is just 13%. Diagnosed at stage I, that figure rises above 60%. The difference is not biology. It is timing.
Organised lung cancer screening has the evidence behind it. The EU’s Beating Cancer Plan, the updated EU Cancer Screening Recommendations, and the European Code Against Cancer all reference its rollout. But lung cancer has consistently received less political attention and fewer resources than breast, cervical, or colorectal cancers, despite carrying the greatest mortality burden. This has to change.
Prevention cannot be an afterthought
Early detection through lung cancer screening is essential. But so is reducing who develops lung cancer in the first place. Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan set clear targets on tackling smoking, air pollution, and harmful chemical exposures. Progress has been too slow.
WHO data shows smoking rates are rising again, particularly among girls aged 12 to 15. The European Environment Agency’s 2025 annual report found that most EU countries are not on track to meet their 2030 emissions targets, which were themselves set above WHO recommendations. These statistics translate directly into future lung cancer diagnoses.
There is welcome news: in April 2026, the Employment and Social Affairs Committee adopted new provisions to strengthen workers’ protection from hazardous substance exposure, including new exposure limit values and obligations around protective equipment. Workers with higher occupational exposure risk should also be prioritised for lung cancer screening.
A postcode should not determine survival
Across the EU, only a few of the 27 member states have implemented lung cancer screening programmes. A further 13 are running pilots and implementation studies, a process that typically takes five years, and completion of those studies does not guarantee rollout.
The SOLACE initiative has been significant in shifting the landscape since 2019, when no EU screening programmes existed at all. But the pace of progress remains far too slow. Every year without equitable, organised screening is a year in which geography continues to determine who survives.
Healthcare systems differ, and cost-effectiveness analyses will look different across national contexts. That variation is real and legitimate. But fast-tracking the pathway from evidence to implementation is not a policy luxury. It is a matter of lives.
Follow the conversation
The World Cancer Series Europe takes place on 8 and 9 June 2026 at the Brussels Marriott Hotel Grand Place. Lung Cancer Europe will be represented in the closing session of Day 1, from 17:25 to 18:05.