Medical Oncology recognized at EU level to allow free movement of doctors

The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), the leading professional organization for medical oncology in Europe, proudly announced that medical oncology has been included among the medical specialties covered by Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications, as announced today by the Commission. The decision was taken after several years of intense discussion between ESMO, key national societies and EU Member States.

"This is an important step towards better cancer care in Europe," said ESMO President Prof David Kerr. The inclusion of medical oncology in the Directive will in fact improve the mobility of medical oncologists in Europe, with their professional qualifications being 'automatically recognized' amongst participating EU Member States in accordance with EC Directive.

"In light of the increasingly important role played by medical oncologists in the comprehensive management of cancer patients, free movement of medical oncologists will be beneficial to address the growing cancer burden, allowing to cope with potential labour shortages more promptly," Prof Kerr added.

The decision made by Member States will also act as an extra incentive to young medical oncologists looking for stimulating and exciting opportunities abroad, both in the research and the clinical sectors, allowing them to become more competitive and operate in a more stimulating context, without being hindered by bureaucratic barriers.

"Demographic trends will provoke a shortage of medical oncologists in cancer care," noted Dr Paolo Casali, ESMO Public Affairs Chair. "It was ESMO's duty to work for a more uniform and harmonized European setting, where cancer patients can benefit from the professionalism of medical oncologists irrespective of where they live," Casali concluded.

Cancer care and demographic trends in Europe

With an estimated 3.2 million new cases (53% occurring in men, 47% in women) and 1.7 million deaths (56% in men, 44% in women) each year, cancer remains an important public health problem in Europe. The total number of new cases of cancer in Europe appear to have increased by 300 000 between 2004 and 2006 . The ageing of the European population will cause these numbers to continue to increase even if age-specific rates remain constant.

Demographic trends will provoke a shortage of medical oncologists in cancer care. Already some countries feel the need to employ foreign-trained medical oncologists to ensure patients have access to specialist care. Also in larger member states such as Spain, the supply of medical oncologists is an issue. The Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) reported an estimated shortage of 1,100 medical oncologists in 2009 . A recent study, projecting the number of oncologists over the 2002-2032 period in France, concluded that this will not be sufficient to meet future increasing demand  and that steps need to be taken to boost the number of medical oncologists.