Cancer continues to be one of the most serious public health challenges in the European Union. In 2024, around 2.7 million new cancer cases were diagnosed in the EU, while approximately 1.3 million people died from the disease. At the same time, the European Commission estimates that around 40% of cancer cases can be prevented through action targeting major risk factors and promoting healthier lifestyles.
This is why prevention is at the heart of European health policy. Through the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the European Union supports measures to reduce risk factors, improve early detection and screening, strengthen health literacy, and reduce inequalities in access to prevention and treatment.
According to the review of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, published by the European Commission in 2025, more than 90% of the actions foreseen under the Plan had been completed or were ongoing by the end of 2024. Prevention is identified as the most effective and cost-efficient long-term strategy for reducing the burden of cancer.
Less Tobacco – One of the Key Priorities for Cancer Prevention
Tobacco use remains one of the most important preventable risk factors for cancer. The European Union has therefore set the ambitious goal of creating a “Tobacco-Free Generation”, in which less than 5% of the population uses tobacco by 2040.
An important step in 2026 is the evaluation of the EU tobacco control legislative framework. On 2 April 2026, the European Commission published an evaluation of the Tobacco Products Directive and the Tobacco Advertising Directive.
The evaluation shows that the existing rules have contributed to a significant reduction in smoking and tobacco-related deaths. At the same time, new challenges are emerging from novel tobacco and nicotine products, particularly among young people. The European Commission is planning follow-up action and a proposal to update the EU regulatory framework.
This policy is directly relevant to lung cancer prevention, as tobacco smoking remains its main risk factor.
Lung Cancer: From Prevention to Early Detection
Lung cancer is one of the most serious cancer diseases in Europe. In addition to smoking, important risk factors include second-hand smoke, air pollution, occupational exposure to carcinogenic substances, and radon.
Detailed information on risk factors and the European approach to prevention is available through EU Knowledge4Policy – Lung cancer prevention.
The European approach is increasingly focusing not only on preventing risk factors but also on detecting the disease at an earlier stage. The 2022 Council Recommendation on cancer screening encourages Member States to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of organised lung cancer screening programmes for high-risk groups, including through low-dose computed tomography (LDCT).
SOLACE – Strengthening Lung Cancer Screening
The European Union also supports concrete initiatives aimed at developing lung cancer screening in practice.
SOLACE – Strengthening the screening of Lung Cancer in Europe is an EU4Health-funded project that ran from April 2023 to March 2026. The project developed tools and approaches for introducing and optimising lung cancer screening in different European healthcare systems.
Its activities included developing screening guidelines, assessing the needs of individual countries and regions, analysing benefits and risks, and conducting pilot initiatives.
LAPIN – The Next Step Towards More Personalised Screening
A new generation of research is continuing through LAPIN – Lung cancer screening And Prevention INternationally, an EU4Health project running from November 2025 to April 2027.
LAPIN aims to improve the identification of people who could benefit from lung cancer screening. The project looks beyond smoking alone and considers a broader range of risk factors, with particular attention to people at moderate risk.
One particularly relevant area is the inclusion of residential radon exposure in risk assessment. This is especially important because it demonstrates how the European approach is gradually moving towards more personalised assessment of individual risk.
Not Only Smoking: The Role of Radon
Lung cancer prevention requires consideration of the different factors that can contribute to risk and interact with one another.
According to EU Knowledge4Policy – Lung cancer prevention, major risk factors for lung cancer include smoking, second-hand smoke, air pollution, radon, and occupational exposure to hazardous substances, including asbestos.
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can accumulate inside buildings and represents an important preventable risk factor for lung cancer. Measuring radon concentrations and informing citizens about potential risks are therefore important elements of modern prevention strategies.
The European project LAPIN is particularly relevant in this context, as one of its objectives is to improve understanding of moderate-risk populations and the role of factors such as radon when determining appropriate screening strategies.
Prevention Starts Before the Disease
European cancer prevention policy goes far beyond tobacco control. Key priorities include reducing harmful alcohol consumption, addressing overweight and physical inactivity, limiting exposure to pollutants and carcinogenic substances, and preventing infections associated with the development of cancer.
An important step in this direction is the Council Recommendation on vaccination to prevent cancer, adopted in 2024. It focuses on increasing vaccination coverage against human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV), both of which are associated with the development of certain types of cancer.
In this way, the European strategy approaches prevention as a comprehensive process that begins long before a diagnosis is made.
What Comes Next in 2026?
European cancer prevention policy continues to evolve. One of the key developments in 2026 is the fifth edition of the European Code Against Cancer, which aims to provide citizens with clear, scientifically based recommendations on actions that can reduce the risk of cancer.
The European Commission is also continuing the implementation of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, including the development of European cancer care networks, screening programmes, health literacy initiatives, and measures to reduce inequalities between countries and regions.
Another priority for 2026 is continued work on disease prevention and health promotion throughout the life course.
What Does This Mean for Local Communities?
European policies for cancer prevention cannot be effective through top-down decisions alone. To work in practice, they need to reach people and local communities and take into account their real-life conditions, knowledge, attitudes, and needs.
This is where European policy meets the Living Lab approach. Instead of being merely recipients of information, citizens can actively participate in identifying problems, developing solutions, and testing them in real-life settings.
This approach is particularly relevant to the 4P-CAN project, which focuses on personalised cancer prevention, citizen engagement, and cooperation among different stakeholders.
Within the initiatives in Bulgaria, particular attention is also given to radon measurement and work with local communities. This creates an opportunity to connect European priorities with specific local conditions and needs.
In this way, European cancer prevention objectives can be translated into concrete local action: greater awareness, improved health literacy, a better understanding of local risks, and active citizen participation in developing solutions.
Cancer prevention starts with awareness, but to be effective, it needs to become a shared action.
Official Sources
European Commission – Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
European Commission – Review of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
European Commission – Tobacco control legislation
EU Knowledge4Policy – Lung cancer prevention
European Commission – Cancer prevention and vaccination
