LuCE REPORT ON LUNG CANCER Challenges in lung cancer in Europe

European guidelines for the treatment of the different types of
lung cancer, different views on best practices and budgetary
constraints at the national and regional level can produce
disparities in the recommended therapy. Tools like the ESMO
Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale (ESMO-MCBS) could help
EU countries to make priorities on evidence-based data. This
is a way to assess the magnitude of clinical benefit that can be
expected from a new cancer medicine and it helps to provide a
cost-effective and affordable cancer care, considering the limited
public resources21.
We should also consider potential inequalities in health
outcomes within countries, presented as the difference in health
status between socioeconomic groups, geographic location,
employment status, gender or ethnic groups. Interventions must
tackle the macroenvironmental factors and the physical and
social environment, as well as adverse health behaviours and
access to health care, but there are differences in national policy
approaches to health inequalities22. Inequalities in health care are
not only considered as regards diagnosis and treatment but also
in the general spectrum of health information/education, early
diagnosis, timely and adequate treatments, palliative care and
quality of care in general23
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