Cancer Mission Hub Norway: Digital tools contribute to accelerate cancer prevention
The EU has set itself a deadline of 2030 to improve the lives of three million Europeans affected by cancer. This will be achieved through increased understanding of cancer, prevention, early diagnosis, better treatment, and improved quality of life during and after treatment.
PIECES works towards cancer prevention in Europe.
The Norwegian Cancer Mission Hub has, in an interview with researcher Robin Kenter at Forhelse, described the cancer prevention project PIECES. PIECES contributes to achieving the goals of the Cancer Mission through research on the implementation of digital tools for cancer prevention.
PIECES works towards cancer prevention in Europe.
Kenter is the project leader for PIECES at Helse Bergen, which is the Norwegian partner. PIECES brings together 15 partners and is carried out in 10 European countries. Altogether, the study covers a population of nearly 78 million people.
A tool for putting measures into practice
30–40 percent of cancer cases can be prevented. Despite strong evidence for the effectiveness of prevention programs, it is often challenging to make them work in practice. This is something PIECES aims to address.
Researchers in PIECES have developed a digital tool – the Integrated Implementation Toolkit (PCP-IT) – which is designed to support decision-makers and professionals in selecting, adapting, and implementing evidence-based measures for cancer prevention. The goal is to make it easier to choose, tailor, and adopt measures that prevent cancer.
The tool targets six key risk factors for cancer: tobacco use, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, HPV infection, sun exposure, and diet.
For Robin Kenter, there is no doubt that participating in such a European collaboration provides significant added value. It offers an opportunity to study the scaling up and implementation of prevention programs in countries with different cultural, social, and organizational contexts.
