National Cancer Control Plans
Our new advocacy brief on strengthening national cancer control plans calls for governments to put prevention at the centre of cancer control by integrating prevention across the cancer continuum, prioritising structural approaches and health equity and ensuring accountability and sustainable investment in cancer control plans.
What is a National Cancer Control Plan?
A National Cancer Control Plan (NCCP) is a government-led strategic framework that sets out a country’s priorities and actions to prevent and control cancer. An effective NCCP addresses the full cancer control continuum – from primary prevention and early detection, through to diagnosis, treatment, palliative care, and survivorship.
NCCPs are the foundation of a national cancer response. They provide the structure for resource allocation, stakeholder coordination, monitoring and evaluation, and accountability. Evidence shows that well-designed NCCPs, linked to strong governance and adequate financing, improve cancer outcomes.
Prevention is the biggest missed opportunity in cancer control
Around 40% of cancers are preventable – yet only 30% of National Cancer Control Plans (NCCPs) include comprehensive prevention measures, and most prioritise screening over primary prevention. Primary prevention offers the greatest long-term return on investment, but nearly three-quarters of NCCPs remain unfunded, limiting their real-world impact.
Prevention doesn’t stop at diagnosis. Healthy weight, nutrition and physical activity are linked to better treatment tolerance, fewer complications, lower recurrence risk and improved quality of life after a cancer diagnosis. Prevention and treatment are complementary investments – not competing ones – and must be integrated across cancer care.
Additionally, a focus on prevention can help address health inequalities as socioeconomic status is associated with cancer incidence and mortality. Those living in deprived areas generally have greater exposure to modifiable risk factors, are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at a later stage, and to experience more barriers in accessing cancer services.
Prevention isn’t a cost – it’s an investment.
WHO’s NCD Best Buys – including taxation, food policies, HPV vaccination and screening – are among the most cost-effective tools available. At around $3 per person annually, these measures could save 12 million lives and generate over $1 trillion in returns by 2030.
The economic case goes further:
- Taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks generate revenue that could fund cancer control.
- Some Best Buys – known as “Quick Buys” – can show measurable results within five years of implementation.
- Addressing risk factors delivers greater economic gains than improving survival rates alone: reducing obesity prevalence has more than 10 times the GDP impact of increasing cardiovascular disease survival.
With cancer projected to cost over $25 trillion by 2050 through lost productivity and premature mortality, prevention-centred policies are an economic imperative – not just a health one.
Want to learn more about prevention and cancer control plans?
Cancer Prevention in the UK: A missed opportunity
One recent National Cancer Control Plan that reflects current approaches to prevention is the National Cancer Plan for England. Published on 4 February 2026, the Plan positively sets out an ambitious 10-year strategy with a strong focus on survival, innovation, and patient experience.
While it does note that up to a third of cancers in England are preventable, and that diet, obesity, alcohol, UV and tobacco are key risk factors, it unfortunately fails to place prevention front and centre. Alcohol and breastfeeding are two critical areas that the Plan does not adequately address. This is a missed opportunity for the UK, where prevention remains the most sustainable and cost-effective way to address the country’s growing cancer burden.
The inclusion of a dedicated chapter on prevention would have made the National Cancer Plan for England world-leading and helped to highlight that diet, alcohol, and breastfeeding policies are cancer policies.
Why every country needs a strong National Cancer Control Plan
Cancer rates globally are worryingly on the rise but, by prioritising prevention, National Cancer Control Plans are a proven way to halt or even reverse soaring cancer rates. Melissa Dando, our Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer, shares how we’re trying to make this a reality.
