Uro-Oncology
In 2020, the European Union proposed Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan (EBCP). This is the EU’s flagship strategy to reduce the cancer burden across Europe through coordinated, evidence-based action. It addresses the entire disease pathway; from prevention and early detection to treatment and survivorship, whilst also tackling inequalities in access and outcomes.
EBCP is structured around four pillars:
It includes 10 flagship initiatives and over 30 supporting actions, backed by €4 billion in funding.
For urologists, EBCP supports improved screening for prostate cancer and advances personalised medicine through EU-wide networks. It also fosters innovation via initiatives such as the European Cancer Imaging Initiative and the Cancer Diagnostic and Treatment for All programme.
A key goal is to ensure 90% of eligible citizens have access to screening for major cancers by 2025. EBCP encourages collaboration between Member States and stakeholders, including healthcare professionals. It integrates research, digital tools, and training to strengthen Europe’s cancer workforce, and ultimately aims to build a resilient European Health Union where every patient receives high-quality care.
Our key partner for disciplinary approaches to cancer prevention, diagnosis and care is the European Cancer Organisation
The EAU Policy Office is closely monitoring the new Own-initiative procedure (INI) from the European Parliament on Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. This INI will look at the implementation stage of EBCP and work on suggestions.
Types of cancer
Find below more information on the main cancers we focus our work on:
Topic leads: Hein Van Poppel, Peter Albers and Roderick van den Berg
During the development of EBCP, the EAU conducted targeted advocacy to highlight the gaps between opportunistic/ non-organised vs organised PSA testing, and to present a potential way forward for a risk adapted screening algorithm. In December 2022, the EU updated the Council Screening Recommendations to include Prostate Cancer.
Currently, the EAU with 24 other organisations are running PRAISE-U (Prostate Cancer Awareness and Initiative for Screening in the EU). This is a three year project co-funded by the European Commission designed to meet these challenges by piloting Prostate Cancer screening programmes across the EU, and by strengthening the knowledge base, as well as the monitoring and evaluating capabilities.
PRAISE U also leads the work on Prostate Cancer screening under the EU funded Joint Action, EUCanScreen. You can read more about EUCanScreen here.
The EAU Policy Office is a proud partner of EuropaUomo, the Prostate Cancer Patient Advocacy Group. Together, the EAU and EuropaUomo works for the recognition of PCa Patients and their rights by organising some of the following initiatives:
- EPAD: Every 3rd of September we will commemorate the European Prostate Cancer Awareness Day. EuropaUomo, EAU and other organisations join forces to increase the knowledge on this type of cancer.
- Other collaborations: The EAU Policy Office and EuropaUomo work together in ad-hoc situations, such as writing statements for public consultations, research papers, etc.
Topic lead: Thorsten Ecke
Bladder cancer poses a significant public health challenge in Europe, ranking as the 5th most prevalent cancer and the 4th most common in men in Europe. Each year, over 224,000 new cases are diagnosed in Europe with 165,000 people diagnosed in the EU alone, placing a significant impact on healthcare systems and society. It is estimated that over 52,000 lives are lost annually to this disease in the EU, with projections indicating a worrying bladder cancer incidence increase to 219,000 by 2030.
In 2025, the EAU and 6 other consortium members launched BCLEAR, a project co-funded under EU4Health.
BCLEAR (Bladder Cancer Literacy for All) aims to improve health literacy on bladder cancer to reduce incidence and mortality. The project focuses on raising awareness of risk factors like smoking and occupational exposures while supporting shared decision-making between patients and healthcare professionals. Pilot programs will run in Greece, Poland, and Hungary, tailored to each country’s context. BCLEAR provides education campaigns, decision-aid tools, and a virtual library to promote early diagnosis, personalized treatment, and serve as a model for future EU health literacy initiatives.
The EAU is a proud partner of the World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition (WBCPC), and together have authored a White Paper on Bladder Cancer, which details our community’s policy recommendations on how the EU can take decisive policy action to decrease the impact of Bladder Cancer throughout Europe. Stemming from the White Paper on Bladder Cancer and with the objective to reach policymakers with clear calls to action, the WBCPC and the EAU also developed an infographic which summarises the content of the paper and includes a checklist for policymakers.
These recommendations aim to improve patient outcomes, advance public health initiatives and drive innovation for patients with bladder cancer. They also aim to drive stronger collaboration between policymakers, healthcare professionals, researchers and patient advocates to enact lasting positive change for all people affected by bladder cancer.
Scientific publications:
Kidney cancer, in particular Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC), constitutes a health challenge across Europe. While RCC may represent a modest percentage of all cancers, its impact is far from negligible. In 2020, Europe accounted for over 138,000 new cases, a figure that underscores the need for concerted policy action.
- The EAU works closely with IKCC, the Kidney Cancer Patient Coalition, in its advocacy on kidney cancer, and is now working on updating the White Paper on Kidney Cancer from 2019.
- In 2022, the IKCC and the EAU organised a Roundtable event in the European Parliament, with high-level speakers and guests, which included call to actions for the European Commission.
Penile and testicular cancers are quite rare in the European Union (EU). Testicular cancer, which mainly affects younger men, has about 5-7 new cases per 100,000 men each year. Penile cancer is even less common, with fewer than 1 new case per 100,000 men annually.
Even though these cancers are rare, it's very important for leaders and policymakers to pay attention to them. Catching these cancers early is the key to a successful outcome. For example, when testicular cancer is found early, the survival rate is extremely high: over 99%. For penile cancer, early detection leads to a survival rate of about 80-90%.