Cancer claims nearly 10 million lives every year. Yet a substantial proportion of those deaths are avoidable. When cancer is detected and treated at its earliest stages, survival rates improve dramatically. The barriers are not scientific; they are systemic. They live in fragmented policies, underfunded primary care and health systems that continue to weight resources towards late-stage treatment rather than prevention and early detection.
That is precisely the problem Mission Early was created to address, and it is why the latest publication of a new RAND Europe report marks a meaningful step forward.
What the report sets out
Consensus Building Research to Identify the ‘Ideal’ Policy Framework for Early Cancer Care, published by RAND Europe on behalf of Mission Early, presents the findings of a global Expert Consensus study involving cancer policy specialists from eleven countries across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Using a rigorous three-phase methodology, including structured expert rating rounds and validation workshops, the research identifies the core building blocks of an effective, equitable and sustainable early cancer care system.
The result is a five-domain policy framework:
Education and Engagement covers public education and community empowerment, recognising that health literacy and trust in health systems are foundational to early help-seeking behaviour.
Early Detection and Screening calls for the expansion of equitable screening programmes alongside evidence-based detection innovations, including AI-assisted imaging and blood-based testing.
Early Diagnosis highlights the critical role of primary care capacity and diagnostic innovation, with robust referral networks and a trained workforce to reduce delays between suspicion and confirmed diagnosis.
Early Treatment identifies care coordination as an essential component, ensuring continuity between diagnosis and the start of treatment.
Infrastructure and Health System Strengthening encompasses data systems, real-world evidence, incentivisation structures, workforce capacity and governance, all of which underpin the other four domains.
The framework is designed to be adaptable. It is a flexible tool for policymakers in high, middle and lower income settings alike, to contextualise and prioritise actions according to their own systems and resources.
Why this matters for All.Can
All.Can International has been a member of Mission Early’s Advisory Group since the initiative’s inception, and our Chief Executive Officer Eduardo Pisani has provided strategic guidance throughout the research process. This is not a coincidence; it reflects the deep alignment between Mission Early’s ambitions and All.Can’s core purpose.
Efficiency in cancer care does not begin at the point of treatment. It begins much earlier, with the policies that determine whether a patient reaches diagnosis promptly, whether their GP is equipped to act on warning signs, and whether their health system has built the data infrastructure to learn and improve over time. The RAND Europe framework addresses each of these dimensions in a coherent, evidence-informed way.
Across our national initiatives in Romania, Spain and Mexico, we are already piloting Mission Early’s approach at country level, engaging policymakers, mapping barriers and co-creating local solutions. This report gives those efforts a shared global foundation.
The call to action
The framework is clear on what policymakers must do. It calls for early cancer care to be integrated into national cancer control plans and universal health coverage strategies. It asks governments to rebalance funding from late-stage treatment towards prevention and primary care based diagnosis. It urges investment in interoperable data platforms, stronger referral systems, and incentive mechanisms designed for long-term outcomes rather than short-term metrics. And it insists that public trust must be built through inclusive, co-created communication, not top-down messaging.
These are achievable policy choices, and the evidence for making them is now stronger than ever.
At All.Can, we believe that efficiency and equity in cancer care are inseparable. Catching cancer early is not only better for patients; it is better for health systems and for society. We are proud to have contributed to this work, and we encourage policymakers, patient advocates, clinicians and health system leaders to read the report, share it widely, and use it as a foundation for action.