Cancer Care
Assuring Quality to Improve Survival
More than five million new cases of cancer are diagnosed every year in OECD countries. Mortality rates are declining, but not as fast as for other big killers such as heart disease, and cancer survival rates show almost a four-fold difference across countries. In short, many countries are not doing as well as they could in the fight against cancer.
Cancer Care: Assuring Quality to Improve Survival surveys the policy trends in cancer care over recent years and looks at survival rates to identify the why some countries are doing better than others. It sets out what governments should do to reduce the burden of cancer in their countries. As well as an adequate level of resourcing, a comprehensive national cancer control plan appears critical, emphasising initiatives such as early detection and fast-track treatment pathways. Countries also need better data, particularly for patients’ experiences of care, in order to provide high quality, continuously improving cancer care.
Cancer care practice
Besides providing an adequate level of cancer care resources and ensuring their adequate allocation, as discussed in , countries also aim to ensure that high-quality care is delivered throughout the various stages of the disease pathway. This chapter illustrates cross-country differences in cancer care practice, such as smoking reduction, screening, medical practices and waiting times. It also considers the various policy measures that countries have adopted, in addition to simply increasing resources, in their efforts to improve cancer care practice.