Belgium Unveils 10-Year Cancer Plan With 34 Actions

Belgium’s federal government has presented a new ten-year cancer plan containing 34 concrete actions, aimed at improving care from prevention and early detection through treatment, aftercare and quality of life. Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) unveiled the Belgian Cancer Plan 2026-2036 on 8-9 October, replacing a previous plan dating from 2008.

The plan places particular emphasis on better guidance for adolescents and young adults (the AYA network), the further concentration of complex cancer care in specialised reference centres, and the creation of a national expert panel to advise treating physicians. More than 77,000 people in Belgium receive a cancer diagnosis each year, a figure expected to keep rising at least until 2035 — driven primarily by an ageing population.

A Plan Nearly Two Decades Overdue

According to VRT NWS, the plan sets out cancer care policy for the next decade and forms part of the federal coalition agreement. Its publication was welcomed by patient organisations, given that the previous plan is now almost 20 years old.

The plan was the result of close cooperation between the RIZIV (National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance), the FOD Volksgezondheid (Federal Public Service for Public Health), Sciensano, the KCE (Federal Knowledge Centre for Health Care) and the FAGG (Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products). The official government announcement describes the plan as an answer to structural challenges in cancer care: rising cancer incidence, the growing complexity of diagnostics and treatments, and a deepening need for integrated care.

The plan rests on four strategic axes: efficient care — the right care for the right patient at the right time; smartly organised care, as close to the patient as possible but specialised where necessary; prevention and early detection through better cooperation with the regions; and support for living with and after cancer.

Focus on Young People and Complex Cancers

For young people, the existing AYA network will be expanded so that young adults with a cancer diagnosis receive better support in their studies, work and fertility. For younger children, paediatric cancer care will be further concentrated in specialised centres.

“Behind every cancer diagnosis you find a person, a family, their environment,” Vandenbroucke said. “Every cancer treatment comes with questions, concerns, but also hope. This cancer plan starts from that human reality. The goal is clear: striving for cancer care that is well-organised, accessible and humane.”

Complex cancer care will be further concentrated in reference centres. This is already the case for oesophageal, pancreatic and head-and-neck cancer, and the model will be extended to ovarian tumours in 2027 and to lung cancer in 2028. The RIZIV, together with experts, will examine which other rare or complex cancers can also be treated at such centres.

The rationale for concentration is supported by figures compiled by the Cancer Registry and reported by OncoHemato. For sarcomas — a rare cancer affecting about 1,100 Belgians a year — five-year survival in specialised centres in the United Kingdom is 62.8%, compared with 42% in non-specialised hospitals. After pancreatic and oesophageal cancer surgery was concentrated in Belgium, 90-day post-operative mortality fell from 7.3% to 5.5% and from 9.6% to 6.6% respectively. About 20,000 Belgians are diagnosed with a rare or complex cancer each year.

A national multidisciplinary expert panel will support treating physicians with the most difficult treatment decisions, convening via a national Molecular Tumor Board. “Top experts from across the country will sit around the table together to give the best advice in very specific cases, so that the best possible treatment can be started,” Vandenbroucke said. The plan also foresees a central platform with the most recent guidelines for caregivers, and calls for making clinical studies more patient-oriented, as current procedures are often long, complex and administratively burdensome.

Prevention Remains a Regional Matter

On prevention, the federal government’s room for manoeuvre is limited, as prevention is a regional competence in Belgium. It will nonetheless support the regions in improving screening and prevention. In that context, it is examining whether population screening could help with lung cancer, a practice that already exists for breast and colon cancer. To strengthen the approach to skin cancer, the government will consult regional ministers to tighten the rules on sunbeds.

Mixed Reactions From Patient Organisations

The reactions from patient organisations were largely positive but not uncritical. Both Stichting tegen Kanker and Kom op tegen Kanker (KOTK) described the new measures as an important step forward, praising the initiatives for rare and complex cancers.

“That fits with our years-long plea to refer patients with complex treatments to centres with sufficient expertise and experience,” KOTK said. The organisation stressed, however, that patients who must travel far need care-trajectory guidance and accessible patient transport. “Financial or practical barriers must never determine whether someone gains access to specialised care.”

KOTK did criticise what it called a lack of ambition on prevention. “Measuring alone is not enough,” the organisation said. “Concrete measures on tobacco and vaping are particularly lacking.” Stichting tegen Kanker, for its part, emphasised the importance of sufficient resources and transparent monitoring for the plan to succeed.

Other reactions were more straightforwardly supportive. Delphine Heenen, founder of the children’s cancer organisation KickCancer, said cancer — especially in children — is a complex disease requiring a holistic care policy. “That is exactly what the Cancer Plan offers,” she said, adding that it contains measures for children, adolescents and young adults “that are indispensable to improve their care and treatment.” Dr. Ann De Becker, chair of the Belgian Hematology Society, said she looked forward to a plan that should make care for blood cancer patients “future-proof.”

What’s Next

Vandenbroucke framed the plan as a value-for-money proposition for Belgium’s solidarity-based health system. “We strengthen what already works well today, and offer concrete answers to needs that are still insufficiently met. That way we get more health for our money,” he said.

The plan’s 34 actions will be monitored and evaluated, allowing adjustments in light of new scientific insights, changing care needs and available resources. Key milestones to watch include the extension of the reference-centre model to ovarian tumours in 2027 and to lung cancer in 2028, the establishment of the national Molecular Tumor Board, and the planned tightening of rules on sunbeds. Whether the plan can deliver on its prevention ambitions will depend on cooperation with Belgium’s regions — and, patient organisations warn, on whether the government backs its stated goals with adequate funding and transparent follow-up.