Hospital.Help

Berlin Despite the progress made in recent decades, experts still see an urgent need for action in the fight against cancer. The areas where there is room for improvement are the care structure and the areas of prevention and research. Experts made this clear today at an event to mark the 50th anniversary of the German Cancer Aid in Berlin.

We want to continue to push the boundaries of what is possible, explained Angelika Eggert, pediatric oncologist at the Charité University Medicine in Berlin. The goal is to achieve a 100 percent cure rate for both young and adult cancer patients.

While a cancer diagnosis was a death sentence 50 years ago, according to the German Cancer Aid, around half of all adult cancer patients can now be cured. Among children, four out of five affected people recover after the disease.

Research continues to advance, Thomas Seufferlein, medical director of the Department of Internal Medicine 1 at the University Hospital Ulm, spoke of explosive developments in recent years.

Seufferlein was certain that one day there would be a vaccine against cancer. Promising developments had already been made for skin cancer. Other substances also offered hope for the future of cancer treatment.

Eggert confirmed the rapid development in cancer research in recent years. A lot has happened in a short space of time in the treatment of acute leukemia. According to her, almost 80 percent of young patients now survive leukemia. Just a few years ago, this rate was much lower.

Despite these successes, we still have a long way to go, said Gerd Nettekoven, Chairman of the Board of the German Cancer Aid. We are still unable to cure every second person affected and there are still types of cancer that we are powerless against. One example of this is pancreatic cancer, research into which the Cancer Aid would particularly like to promote in the coming years.

The experts also see a need for action in the area of ​​prevention. According to Seufferlein, 40 percent of all illnesses can be avoided by a healthy lifestyle. If I don’t learn to exercise as a child, I won’t exercise as an adult either, he said. You have to create patterns for a healthy lifestyle early on.

Behavioral intervention must begin in early childhood, said Eggert. This requires networks with kindergartens and schools and better education among the population. Although there are already effective vaccinations, such as against human papilloma viruses, the vaccination is still not used enough.

Politicians are also slowly realizing how important prevention is, added Nettekoven. We need to make much greater use of the great potential of prevention in the future. If more people took part in breast or colon cancer screenings, many diseases could be avoided or treated at a very early stage.

Eggert explained that major changes in cancer treatment have also been brought about by the creation of top oncology centers, the Comprehensive Cancer Centers (CCC). The centers have given patients access to first-class, interdisciplinary care.

An important task for the future is to make the CCC accessible to all cancer patients, says Seufferlein. This means, above all, ensuring care in the area and creating the appropriate infrastructure.

Nettekoven stressed that networking between smaller and larger hospitals would also make sense in order to provide better care for patients in rural areas. This is the only way to ensure that patients receive equal care.

The German Cancer Aid was founded in September 1974 by Mildred Scheel. The aim of the non-profit organization is to combat cancer in all its forms and to promote its research and treatment.

Cancer Aid supports projects and initiatives to improve prevention, early detection, diagnosis and therapy, medical aftercare and psychosocial care, including cancer self-help.

According to CEO Nettekoven, the organization has contributed to significant progress in almost all areas of oncology in Germany over the past 50 years. © nfs/kna/dpa/aerzteblatt.de