Schema europeo di qualità per lo screening e il trattamento del cancro della mammella
The European Quality Assurance (QA) Scheme for Breast Cancer Services is a voluntary certification scheme delivered by the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer (ECIBC).
It covers the entire care pathway, from breast cancer screening to palliative care, and has been developed to support quality improvement in breast cancer services across Europe, within the context of organised, population-based cancer screening programmes.
As a result of the European Council Recommendation from 20031 , the European Union (EU) has been focusing on improving cancer prevention, screening and care for breast, colorectal and cervical cancer.
In 2008, the European Parliament and Council further reinforced the request to support Members States in their efforts to fight cancer and in December 20222 the Council Recommendation was updated to include lung, prostate and gastric cancer. The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has been mandated to coordinate the ECIBC in collaboration with the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) as an activity under the European Commission Knowledge Centre on Cancer (KCC)3 , one of the flagship initiatives of the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan4 .
ECIBC represents the first in a forthcoming series of European guidelines, which provide evidence-based recommendations, and European QA schemes aimed at addressing the most prevalent cancers in Europe.
The Commission is currently evaluating how to formally implement and operationalise the schemes for cancer care services across Europe wishing to apply for certification. The availability of the scheme for implementation and certification will be duly communicated and published on the JRC web-hub5 and newsletter.