It was a privilege to participate at the ECCO 2019 European Cancer Summit, as a member of the panel on “How does access to innovative cancer medicines fit in high-quality cancer care and a well-functioning health system?”

In parallel, I gave the following interview to Touch Oncology to present my opinion on how we can introduce novel therapies into use in a sustainable way.

Questions:

1. To what extent is access to innovative cancer treatments limited in Portugal and is there a similar issue in other European nations? (0:08)
2. Is restricted access to some cancer treatments resulting in poor patient outcomes, increased morbidity and earlier deaths? (0:44)
3. Treatments such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells are highly effective in the treatment of some cancers. Could access to this and other novel treatments be increased through increased funding and/or improved technologies? (1:19)
4. Can you describe the key aims of the Primary Care P4P initiative in Portugal and how it could improve primary care in cancer? (1:50)
5. The Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL) Access to Medicines Taskforce and other organisations aim to improve the availability of new cancer treatments. What progress have these organisations made towards this goal and what remains to be done? (3:00)

Filmed in partnership with the European CanCer Organisation at the ECCO 2019 European Cancer Summit in Brussels, Belgium.