Multiple European health and research organisations, including the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL), are calling on the European Commission and Member States to act on three concrete priorities outlined in the Exposome Alliance Manifesto, released last week: €1 billion investment in exposome research (including a longitudinal cohort of 10 million participants), a European data system to link health and environmental information, and a stronger EU framework to coordinate disease prevention efforts.
Up to 90% of disease risk, including cancer, is linked to environmental and social exposures: air pollution, hazardous chemicals, occupational risks, housing conditions, stress, and inequality. Better research infrastructure is essential to advance prevention across Europe and strengthen the evidence base for cancer and other non-communicable diseases.
Up to 90% of disease risk, including cancer, is linked to environmental and social exposures: air pollution, hazardous chemicals, occupational risks, housing conditions, stress, and inequality. A better research infrastructure is essential to advance across Europe and strengthen the evidence base for cancer and other non-communicable diseases
Why this matters for cancer
Cancer is shaped by lifetime exposures. While individual behaviour matters, prevention policies that only target personal choices miss 90% of the problem. The Exposome Alliance’s three pillars—a dedicated research mission, harmonised data infrastructure, and a coordinated EU prevention policy—would generate the evidence needed to shift from reactive treatment to upstream prevention. This directly supports ECL’s mission: evidence-led cancer control across Europe, grounded in health equity.
“The Exposome Alliance strives to coordinate prevention action across cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other NCDs. Cancer risk factors rarely act alone, but as a ‘cocktail’, which significantly increase disease risk. We need research to understand these interactions further and strengthen our prevention policies.“ says Dr. Wolfgang Fecke, Executive Director of ECL.
The signatories:
Aéma Groupe, AIM, Association of European Cancer Leagues, European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), European Respiratory Society, Eurochild, EuroHealthNet, Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), International Diabetes Federation Europe.
