EC launches most cancers imaging initiative to speed up innovation and early analysis
The European Fee (EC) has launched a venture to facilitate the sharing of most cancers imaging knowledge throughout the EU in an effort to speed up innovation and early detection of the illness.
The European Most cancers Imaging Initiative will create a digital infrastructure to allow researchers to have entry to extra high-quality assets and databases to check and advance understanding of the illness.
EU well being commissioner Stella Kyriakides mentioned the initiative will “present very important info for the following era of most cancers diagnostics and therapy and assist make screening extra exact, well timed and accessible”.
“Applied sciences like synthetic intelligence (AI) [which could be trained using the large data set] nonetheless supply huge, untapped potential to proceed delivering great advantages in well being – notably in the case of most cancers detection, therapy and care,” Kyriakides mentioned on the launch occasion.
It’s anticipated that the design of the digital infrastructure can be full and the collaboration mechanisms established by December this yr.
Information suppliers will then be capable to join with this new European federated platform, with the primary model set to be launched by the tip of 2024 and the ultimate model by the tip of 2025.
EU inner market commissioner Thierry Breton mentioned: “Digital applied sciences and AI are key in our battle in opposition to most cancers. The motive force behind these applied sciences is high-quality knowledge. With the European Most cancers Imaging Initiative, we’ll unlock a wealth of information and rework it into revolutionary most cancers care options.”
The initiative is a part of the broader European Most cancers Plan, introduced by the EC in February 2021.
With a complete of €4bn being earmarked for actions addressing most cancers, the plan is split into 4 key areas: prevention, early detection, higher entry to therapy, and improved high quality of life for sufferers and survivors.
As a part of the plan’s prevention objectives, the EC is aiming to supply entry to breast, cervical and colorectal most cancers screening to 90% of eligible Europeans.
“Our suggestions are to regularly herald screening for lung, prostate and, beneath sure circumstances, gastric most cancers, primarily based on additional analysis,” Kyriakides mentioned on the imaging initiative launch occasion.
These six most cancers sorts make up over half of all most cancers circumstances and most cancers deaths within the EU.
“As European tips and high quality assurance schemes are up to date, using the brand new evidence-based screening checks can be additional refined,” Kyriakides mentioned. “The European Most cancers Imaging Initiative we launch right this moment will play a serious function on this.”
