Colon Cancer Prevention on a Pan-European Level: The Future of Health in Europe.

MUNICH, Germany, May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Scientists, doctors and politicians from 28 countries are convening in Brussels on May 9 to participate in the "European Conference on Colon Cancer Prevention 2007" which is hosted by the Felix Burda Foundation and its partner organisations under the patronage of the German EU Council Presidency. The one-day event will culminate in the signing of the "Brussels Declaration" which demands a range of concrete measures to combat colon cancer on a pan-European level.

The European Conference on Colon Cancer Prevention 2007 aims to highlight the need for political action on both the national and the European levels and to support the calls for standardised and quality-assured colon cancer prevention programmes across Europe. For this purpose, the participants of the congress intend to sign the "Declaration of Brussels for the Prevention of Colon Cancer in Europe", demanding an action plan and concrete measures in order to kick-start the implementation of a EU-wide colon cancer screening initiative.

The conference will take place on May 9, 2007, in the Bavarian Representation at the EU, the former Institut Pasteur. Werner Schnappauf, the Bavarian Minister for the Environment, Health and Consumer Affairs, will deliver the opening address. Scientists and colon cancer specialists as well as representatives from the European institutions and health politicians from 28 countries will have the opportunity of discussing possible strategies to prevent and combat colon cancer. Speakers at the one-day conference which will be held under the patronage of the German EU Council Presidency and the Union Internationale Contre le Cancer (UICC) include internationally renowned scientists such as Guido Tytgat (Belgium), Jean Faivre (France) and UEGF representative Colm A'MorA in (Ireland). The conference intends to identify the political measures which need to be taken, to provide an overview of the individual colon cancer screening methods and their different levels of efficiency and effectiveness and to arrive at a scientific consensus about national screening programmes. The conference also provides an opportunity for the establishment of cross-border networks to integrate different national screening programmes.

Background:

Each year in Europe alone, 380,000 people are newly diagnosed with colon cancer while 200,000 people are dying from the disease - unnecessarily, because nearly all of these fatalities could be prevented by early recognition, an opportunity provided by virtually no other type of cancer. But only a few European countries have so far implemented a nationwide colon cancer screening programme, even though all countries in the EU are afflicted by similarly high colon cancer incidence and mortality rates and the recommendation from the European Commission to introduce nationwide colon cancer screening programmes in all member states - to complement similar programmes for breast and cervical cancer - dates back to the year 2003.

On the occasion of the German EU Council Presidency, the Felix Burda Foundation is hosting this conference to increase the general awareness for the urgent character of pan-European measures to prevent and combat colon cancer and to discuss the potential benefits and opportunities of the different screening programmes with top-level representatives from politics, health organisations, medical societies and the media. The event will provide an overview of the individual screening methods as well as practical and useful insights into the technicalities of implementing large-scale screening programmes.

The "European Conference on Colon Cancer Prevention 2007" will take place under the patronage of the German EU Council Presidency and the Union Internationale Contre le Cancer (UICC). It is supported by all major European cancer charities. The conference is organised in close cooperation with the Brussels office of the Hanns Seidel Foundation and has been made possible by generous support from the Olympus Medical Systems Europa GmbH and Siemens Medical Solutions.

The programme as well as comprehensive background information about the conference and the speakers including abstracts of the speeches, pictures and videos can be downloaded for free from the conference website at www.future-health-2007.com or www.colon-cancer-europe.com.

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    Felix Burda Stiftung                    Felix Burda Stiftung
    Bettina MA1/4ller                          Dirk Hoppe
    Director Marketing & Communications     Marketing & Communications
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    81925 Munich / Germany                  81925 Munich / Germany
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Felix Burda Stiftung, Bettina MA1/4ller , Director Marketing & Communications, Rosenkavalierplatz 10, 81925 Munich / Germany, Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone], Mobile: [phone], [e-mail], Felix Burda Stiftung, Dirk Hoppe, Marketing & Communications, Rosenkavalierplatz 10, 81925 Munich / Germany, Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone], Mobile: [phone], [e-mail]