Author: Jennifer Young | Vice President & Head, International Commercial Policy & Comm1unications
National cancer control plans (NCCPs) are among the most important tools in the global effort against cancer. With cancer incidence projected to rise by 67% over the next two decades, every nation should be developing or strengthening a dedicated strategy. An NCCP is the roadmap that guides how a country tackles cancer across areas including prevention, early detection, diagnosis, care, treatment and financial protection. NCCPs shape, very directly, the experience a person living with cancer will have.
Having a plan is not the same as funding one.
The good news is that most countries now have an NCCP. Since 2021, over 80% of countries have had an NCCP. An analysis spanning 144 countries found that those implementing NCCPs achieved better outcomes, including lower mortality and higher survival.
The harder news is what those plans leave out. A Charles River Associates review of 26 national plans found that only 27% specify the level of funding required to deliver their stated objectives. In Europe, just 15 of 28 plans mention funding, and few commit a specific budget — many simply note that funding is needed. When spending is tracked, it is rarely linked back to the specific interventions it was meant to support.
The consequences are measurable. For example, Ireland’s National Cancer Strategy faced a cumulative shortfall of €180 million over five of its seven years. Forty of its 52 recommendations were acted on — yet only one of 23 key objectives was fully met. By way of contrast, since launching its NCCP in 1996, South Korea has seen five-year cancer survival rise from 43% in the 1990s to 73.7% in the most recent five-year period (2019–2023), attributed to well-sequenced investment in registries, prevention, early detection and treatment.
Dedicated funding, paired with metrics, is what turns aspiration into action.
Elevating patient voice creates real opportunities to close these gaps.
A recent 20-country analysis published in the Journal of Cancer Policy mapped national plans against five pillars: prevention, early detection, care, treatment and quality of life. Read closely, its findings are a map of where patient organizations are needed most.
Prevention plans focus on risk, but more public awareness is needed.
Eighty percent of plans address reducing risk factors — but fewer than half (40%) include objectives on raising public awareness. Most plans address what causes cancer. Far fewer have a strategy for reaching the people who need to hear it. Patients and patient organizations understand why someone delays presenting to a clinic in a way no epidemiological model does.
Regular NCCP evaluation can help ensure progress is being made.
A quarter of the plans reviewed included no detail on allocated budgets, and only half assigned multi-stakeholder engagement objectives. Cancer mortality data takes years to collate; intermediate measures such as screening coverage and vaccination rates are what allow progress to be measured in real time. Patient organizations can contribute valuable insights related to interim indicators that make monitoring possible.
Patient experience can help inform and strengthen treatment and access pillars of NCCPs.
Only 10% of plans have objectives related to early access, and 15% on access and reimbursement. Many plans describe cancer care without explaining how innovation actually reaches the people who need it. Patient experience is real-world evidence, and it has an important role to play.
These gaps can be addressed when patient organizations are in the room during priority-setting, costing and evaluation — and when stakeholders — including governments, industry, clinicians, non-governmental organizations, and patient organizations connect to review the progress of plans as they are implemented.
Turning plans into real progress
No single stakeholder can deliver on the promise of a national cancer control plan alone. Progress depends on collaboration among governments, healthcare providers, patient organizations, researchers and industry, each bringing different expertise and perspectives to the table.
Increasingly, stakeholders across the oncology community are working together to strengthen cancer control efforts, support implementation and ensure that patient voices help shape priorities and measure progress. Pfizer is proud to be part of those efforts, partnering with patient organizations and other stakeholders to help advance approaches that keep patients at the center of cancer care.
Because the true measure of any NCCP is its impact on people, the challenge now is not simply to create strategies, but to ensure they are funded, implemented and continually informed by the experiences of those they are designed to serve.
THIS BLOG WAS CONTRIBUTED BY PFIZER, A CORPORATE PARTNER OF THE WORLD PATIENTS’ ALLIANCE.
References
[1] H. Sung, et al., “Global Cancer Statistics 2024: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 34 Cancers in 186 Countries," CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 2026, https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.70090; International Agency for Research on Cancer, “Global Cancer Statistics 2024: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 34 Cancers in 186 Countries," news release, July 2026, https://www.iarc.who.int/news-events/global-cancer-statistics-2024-globocan-estimates-of-incidence-and-mortality-worldwide-for-34-cancers-in-186-countries/ (34.4 million projected cases by 2050 vs. 20.6 million in 2024).
[2] M. Lawler, et al., “Analysis and Recommendations to Improve National Cancer Control Plans and Policies Informed by a 20 Country Analysis," Journal of Cancer Policy, 2026, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41558549/ (the 144-country composite-indicator analysis underlying the same study also referenced below for the 20-country policy review).
[3] Irish Cancer Society, “€180 million hole in national cancer funding," press release, June 19, 2024, https://www.cancer.ie/our-news/press-release-eu180-million-hole-in-national-cancer-funding; Department of Health (Ireland), National Cancer Strategy 2017–2026: Implementation Report 2023, https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-health/press-releases/minister-for-health-publishes-the-national-cancer-strategy-2017-2026-implementation-report-2023/.
[4] Ministry of Health and Welfare and National Cancer Center (Korea), 2023 National Cancer Registration Statistics, reported in Korea Biomedical Review, January 2026, https://www.koreabiomed.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=30357; see also Jung K-W, et al., “Cancer Statistics in Korea: Incidence, Mortality, Survival, and Prevalence in 2023," Cancer Research and Treatment, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41881851/.