Italy tops in Europe for Cancer Survival
Excellence in Cancer Treatment, But Waiting Times Need Improvement
Italy is the undisputed leader in Europe for the number of women surviving cancer: nearly two million women live after a cancer diagnosis, more than in any other country on the continent. This advancement highlights the excellent level of the Italian National Health Service. However, the weaknesses of the system include long waiting times for innovative drugs, which can reach up to 14 months, critics argue, too long for cancer patients seeking cutting-edge treatments.
Successes and Challenges of the Italian Healthcare System
According to Francesco Perrone, president of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology, “The result achieved in terms of survival testifies, first of all, that the public health policies implemented in Italy, among the most important in the world, yield the expected results in treatments.” But Perrone also pointed out that waiting times for drugs that have already passed testing by the EMA and other European agencies are too long for the current level of patient services.
Results and Challenges of Italian Oncology
In Europe, progress in the fight against cancer has saved over 6 million lives between 1988 and 2000. Italy has played a fundamental role in these achievements thanks to progress in combating smoking, promoting a healthy lifestyle, early diagnosis through widespread screening, and increasingly new treatments.
From 2010 to 2020, the number of people alive after a cancer period in Europe increased by 41%, rising to 23.7 million, of which 12.8 million are women. In this context, Italy leads the national ranking for the ratio of women alive after a cancer period to the total population. Finally, AIOM suggests the need to develop and implement new organizational models that effectively reduce waiting times for treatments.
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