The European Code Against Cancer, 4th edition
The European Code Against Cancer focuses on actions that individual citizens can take for themselves or their families to reduce their risk of developing cancer. For successful cancer prevention, these individual actions need to be supported by government policies and actions.
It is estimated that almost half of all deaths due to cancer in Europe could be avoided if everyone followed the 12 recommendations of the 4th edition of the European Code Against Cancer.
Use the self-paced modules available for each of the 12 recommendations! An additional module explains the methodology followed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to develop the 4th edition of the European Code Against Cancer. To access the modules, please register/login to the learning platform.
Translations into other languages coming soon.
Modules
Methodology
— Dr Carolina Espina, IARC
1A. Tobacco
— Dr Maria Leon, IARC
2A. Second-hand smoke
— Dr Maria Leon, IARC
3A. Body weight
— Dr Martin Wiseman, WCRF
4A. Physical activity
— Dr Martin Wiseman, WCRF
5A. Diet
— Dr Isabelle Romieu, IARC
6A. Alcohol
— Dr Isabelle Romieu, IARC
7A. Sun/UV Exposure
— Dr Joachim Schüz, IARC
8A. Pollutants
— Dr Carolina Espina, IARC
9A. Radiation
— Dr Joachim Schüz, IARC
10A. Breastfeeding and HRT
— Dr Isabelle Romieu, IARC, and Dr Karen Brown, University of Leicester (UK)
11A. Vaccination and infections
— Dr Rolando Herrero, IARC
12A. Screening
— Dr Paola Armaroli, CPO Piemonte (Italy)
Related resources
- The European Code Against Cancer: cancer-code-europe.iarc.fr
- Cancer Prevention Europe: cancerpreventioneurope.iarc.fr
Latest evidence, myths, and controversies
This second set of modules presents some of the latest evidence that has emerged since the 4th edition of the European Code Against Cancer was published in 2014, and tackles some myths and controversies related to the topics addressed by the 12 recommendations of the European Code Against Cancer, 4th edition.
Use the self-paced modules to learn about further evidence beyond the European Code Against Cancer, 4th edition, and to find out how to differentiate between myths and reality. To access the modules, please register/login to the learning platform.
Modules
1B. Tobacco
— Dr Linda Bauld, Cancer Research UK and the University of Edinburgh (UK)
2B. Second-hand smoke
— Dr Sean Semple, University of Stirling (UK)
3B. Overweight and Obesity
— Dr Mazda Jenab, IARC
4B. Physical activity
— Dr Karen Steindorf, German Cancer Research Center (Germany)
5B. Diet
— Dr Inge Huybrechts, IARC
6B. Alcohol
— Dr Matty Weijenberg, Maastricht University (Netherlands)
7B. Sun exposure
— Dr Davide Serrano, European Institute of Oncology, Milan (Italy)
8B. Environmental and occupational exposures
— Dr Paolo Vineis, Imperial College London (UK)
9B. Radiation
— Dr Joachim Schüz, IARC
10B. Therapies to prevent cancer
— Dr Karen Brown, University of Leicester (UK)
11B. Infections
— Dr Mangesh Thorat, Queen Mary University of London, King's College London and Guy's Hospital London (UK)
12B. Screening
— Dr Andre Carvalho, IARC
Acknowledgements
These modules were created thanks to the Cancer Prevention Europe (CPE) partners (cancerpreventioneurope.iarc.fr/consortium), in particular the World Cancer Research Fund International (wcrf.org), and developed by experts from all the CPE partner institutions and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The translations of these modules were provided by:
- The French National Cancer Institute (INCa), which specializes in comprehensive cancer control and research (e-cancer.fr), and the Centre Léon Bérard (centreleonberard.fr), which is dedicated to comprehensive cancer care, prevention, and research.
- The Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (contraelcancer.es), which leads the efforts of Spanish society to reduce the impact of cancer and to improve people’s lives.
- The Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL) (europeancancerleagues.org), which provides an exclusive platform for members to collaborate with their international peers, primarily in the areas of cancer prevention, tobacco control, access to medicines, and patient support. The ECL, with the support of grant agreement 101015525 from the Third European Union Health Programme 2014–2020, co-financed the translation into Hungarian with the Hungarian League Against Cancer (rakliga.hu) and the translation into Polish with the Maria Skłodowska-Curie – National Research Institute of Oncology (pib-nio.pl).