Rare cancer patients still have limited access to personalized care in Europe

 Findings from a recent study presented at the ESMO Sarcoma and Rare Cancer Congress indicate a substantial gap between precision oncology and real-world access to high-quality cancer treatments, with "only one in five patients with advanced rare cancers able to access treatment matched through individual molecular profiling."   In addition, the study found very limited patient enrollment in clinical trials for rare cancer care; out of 304 patients recommended for clinical trials, only 6 were enrolled." 

Click here to learn more. 

Program details: Morfouace M, et al.Final analysis of the pan-European Arcagen study for molecular profiling and access to treatment for rare cancers: A joint EORTC-EURACAN initiative. ESMO Sarcoma and Rare Cancers Congress 2026 - Abstract 81MO

New survey highlights the role of clinical practice guidelines to improve care for patients with rare cancers

 Results from a recent ESMO (European Society for Medical Oncology) and EURACAN (European Reference Network to Cancers) had led to a "call for policy action to standardize care pathways for rare cancers after analysis links guidance adherence to patient survival").  According to the survey, conducted between September - October 2025, patients with rare malignancies equate to 650,000 new cases per year, representing 24% if all cancer diagnoses across Europe.  

ESMO and EURACAN thus propose the following actions: 

• Centralize rare cancer surgeries in accredited centres  
• Enforce mandatory multidisciplinary decision-making and time-critical standards throughout patient diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up
• Track adherence to established Clinical Practice Guidelines via national dashboards

Click here to learn more

Structured exercise enters ESMO guidelines for colon cancer as recommended treatment

 The European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) has released an update to their colon cancer guidelines, whereby "physical activity, when personalized and delivered as a structured program" is now recommended...for patients with resected stage III or high-risk stage II colon cancer." Over a period of 3 years, 889 stage III or stage II high-risk colon cancer patients enrolled in the CHALLENGE study saw significant improvements in disease-free survival over 5 years (80.3%) compared to 73.9% of patients who received health education materials and standard surveillance with no structured exercise program. 

Click here to learn more about the CHALLENGE study. 

Prescribing exercise as cancer treatment

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recently released updated guidelines emphasizing the importance of physical activity and regular exercise in cancer prevention and survivorship.  Dr. Kathryn Schmitz, co-chair of the expert panel that created these guidelines states that conclusive evidence has been foundling linking exercise and longer survival for breast colon, and prostate cancer patients.  While it is not possible to applying this evidence to all cancer types yet, Dr. Schmitz is adamant that "there are enough benefits of physical activity, in general, that we recommend that survivors of all cancers follow the general public health recommendations for physical activity: 1.5-5 hours/week of moderate-intensity activity, or 1.25-2.5 hours/week of vigorous activity."

To rad more about these guidelines, click here.

Source mentioned: Campbell KL, Winters-Stone KM, Wiskemann J, May AM, Schwartz AL, Courneya KS, Zucker DS, Matthews CE, Ligibel JA, Gerber LH, Morris GS, Patel AV, Hue TF, Perna FM, Schmitz KH.  Exercise guidelines for cancer survivors: consensus statement from international multidisciplinary rounds. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019 Nov; 51(11) 2375-2390.

new cancer guidelines database launched

The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) has launched a searchable database of nearly 1,000 cancer control guidelines.  Previously known as the Standards and Guidelines Evidence (SAGE) Directory, creator Dr. Melissa Brouwers from McMaster University, along with her research team, obtained funding from CPAC to unveil a resource that "address all stages of the cancer continuum, from screening to survivorship and end-of-life care."

Access to the cancer guidelines database is available here.

New Canadian breast cancer screening guideline for women aged 40-74

The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care has released a new guideline for breast cancer screening among women aged 40-74.  The fundamental difference in this latest guidelines release from the 2011 previous edition is with regards to the 40-49 age group.  The 2011 guidelines recommended against routine mammograms for women between 40-49 years old.  According to task force vice-chair Dr. Ainsley Moore, physician at McMaster University, the 2018 guidelines "are intended for an empowered position, [putting] the decision-making into the hands of the individual woman in terms of what she prioritizes." 


The complete guideline is available here.

European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) releases new patient guide in breast cancer

The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) has released a new edition of the ESMO Patient Guide in Breast Cancer, as part of their guideline series. 


Updates to the new edition include:

• section on locally-advanced disease
• new section on sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB)
• new drugs (neratinib, olaparib, and talazoparib) and associated treatment algorithms
• section on special populations (BRCA-associated disease, pregnancy, young women, elderly patients, men)
• Section on supplementary interventions (supportive and palliative care, survivorship, end-of-life care

 To access the new guide, click here.

American Cancer Society lowers age to begin colorectal cancer screening

The American Cancer Society has released an updated guideline for colorectal cancer screening, whereby the recommended age to begin screening has been lowered from 50 to 45.  The new age recommendation is intended for people at average risk of developing colorectal cancer and is not intended to replace "individual preference and choice in testing options...when there is an abnormal test."


To read more about the guidelines, click here.

Task force issues stronger skin cancer prevention guidelines

A new, revised recommendation issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force suggests that skin cancer advice from physicians to patients should begin earlier, particularly for patients that are light-skinned.  The new guidelines recommend beginning consultations at 6 months, since "children and teens who are exposed to the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation are at greater risk for developing skin cancer in adulthood."

To read more about these new guidelines, click here. 

Study supports annual mammograms starting at age 40

A new study conducted at the University of Colorado School of Medicine supports guidelines suggesting that annual mammograms begin at age 40.  According to study co-author R. Edward Hendrick, computer modeling was conducted by his team of investigators on mammogram recommendations for three age groups: annual screening from ages 40-84, annual screening from ages 45-54; every other year from 45-54, and screening every other year from 50-74.  According to projections, "deaths from breast cancer would fall by an average of 40% with annual screenings" from ages 40-84.

To read more about this study, click here.  

New myeloma guideline expands diagnostic criteria, adds novel agents

Substantial changes were made to the latest version of the NCCN guideline for multiple myeloma to address the multitude of newly approved agents for patients with this disease.

In newly diagnosed patients, primary therapy now includes lenalidomide plus dexamethasone in combination with bortezomib (preferred) or the ixazomib. Additionally, the “active” myeloma category was expanded through an adjustment in the diagnostic criteria, to make more patients eligible for therapy.

Read more here.

Gastrointestinal cancer evidence-based series (EBS) and practice guidelines (PG)

February 22, 2016 - The Gastrointestinal Disease Site Group (GI DSG) produces evidence-based reports to assist practitioners and patients make decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances. The titles of the reports produced to date by the DSG are listed below, with links to the PDF versions of those reports. Read more here.

Hairy cell leukaemia: ESMO clinical practice guidelines

Hairy cell leukaemia accounts for 2% of adult leukaemia, and occurs more often in men than in women. The new ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline provides up-to-date information on the management of hairy cell leukaemia, including recommendations for diagnosis and staging, as well as detailed treatment sections referring to the latest studies and reviews. Read more here.

Colon cleansing for colonoscopy: New guidelines for optimizing outcomes

The US Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer has just released new evidence-based guidelines on how to improve and perform colon cleansing before a colonoscopy. This is a joint publication, and it is published in the October 2014 issues of The American Journal of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and Gastroenterology.

Please read the full guideline here.

New guidelines for treating form of advanced breast cancer

HER2-negative breast tumors include cancers that don't respond to drugs that target the HER2 protein, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) explained Tuesday in a news release.

"In releasing this guideline, our aim is to improve both the length and quality of patients' lives," Dr. Ann Partridge, co-chair of the expert panel that developed the guidelines, said in the statement. "Although no clear chemotherapy winner emerged -- the guideline will help doctors and patients choose the best therapy based on what treatment would be most tolerable and convenient for the patient."

The guidelines are published in the Sept. 2 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer: ESMO clinical practice guidelines

Primary lung cancer is the most common malignancy after non-melanocytic skin cancer, and the leading cause of human cancer deaths worldwide. This guidelines focuses on diagnosis, staging and risk assessment, treatment of stage IV NSCLC, treatment of oligometastatic NSCLC, and follow-up. Read more here.

Bladder cancer: ESMO clinical practice guidelines

ESMO guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of bladder cancer include revised chapters about treatment of non- and muscle-invasive bladder cancer, neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy, organ preservation therapy, treatment of advanced and metastatic disease, and treatment of relapse. Read more here

Tamoxifen for 10 Years an option: ASCO Guideline Update

Women with stage I to III hormone receptor–positive breast cancer should consider taking tamoxifen for 10 years, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) says in a clinical practice guideline focused update.

The guideline, Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy for Women with Hormone Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer: American Society of Clinical Oncology Clinical Practice Guideline Focused Update, was published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on May 27. It replaces ASCO's 2010 guideline update.

Training guide for cancer registry personnel

The Manual for cancer registry personnel, a classic resource written to help people working in population-based cancer registries, is now available online. The chapters follow the order of the tasks which have to be performed starting with learning to recognize appropriate medical vocabulary. Other chapters discuss identifying information sources, coding medical diagnoses, managing and analyzing registry data, and maintaining confidentiality. Read the full IARC manual here.

Treatment guidelines for aggressive form of breast cancer

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has released two sets of guidelines for treating patients with an aggressive form of breast cancer. 15-20% of breast cancers are HER2-positive, carrying "high levels of the HER2 protein, which causes tumor cells to grow and divide faster than happens with most other breast cancers." According to Dr. Eric Winer, co-chair of the expert panel that developed the guidelines, doctors now have several treatment options for HER2-positive breast cancer, "all of which are associated with improved survival." To read more about these guidelines, click here.