Cancer medicines

The burden of cancer is increasing in the EU.

An estimated 2.7 million new cancer cases were diagnosed in 2022, when 1.3 million people lost their lives to cancer.

Cancer is the second leading cause of mortality after cardiovascular disease.

To help alleviate the burden of cancer, EMA launched the Cancer Medicines Pathfinder project. It aims to help develop cancer medicines and build up valuable expertise.

This aligns with the objectives of the European Commission's 'Beating cancer plan'.

Find an overview of EMA projects and activities on cancer under 'In this section' on this page.

1 in 4

new cancer diagnoses are in Europe

Europe has a quarter (25%) of all the cancer cases in the world

1 in 3

of all new medicines are for cancer

In 2023, the EU authorised 25 new cancer medicines

24%

is the projected increase in cancer-related deaths

Without action, cancer could become the top cause of death in Europe by 2035

In this section

Cancer Medicines Pathfinder

Project to expedite the development and approval of cancer medicines

Cancer Medicines Forum

Initiative to help advance research into optimising cancer treatments and foster high standards in cancer care in the EU

Educational projects on cancer medicine regulation

Activities to enable stakeholders such as patients and scientists to better understand and contribute to medicine regulation

Patient engagement in oncology

Initiatives to improve engagement with people living with and affected by cancer

EMA's CHMP set up this working party to carry out specific tasks such as preparing guidelines and organising training.

This specialised expert community enables information sharing on scientific and regulatory topics related to oncology. It operates under EMA's Oncology Working Party.