Background
In 2008, the European Parliament Resolution on combating cancer called on the European Commission (EC) to develop European accreditation and certification programmes in cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment, grounded in robust European guidelines. In response, major initiatives were launched for breast (ECIBC), colorectal (ECICC), and cervical cancer (EC-CvC).
Objectives
Following the updated 2022 Council Recommendation—which indicates extending organized screening to include lung, prostate, and gastric cancer—the EC has now launched the European Commission Initiative on Gastric Cancer (EC-GaC). This new initiative is led by the International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization (IARC/WHO), in collaboration with the EC’s Joint Research Centre. A central objective of EC-GaC is the development of the first European guidelines and preparation of a quality assurance (QA) scheme for gastric cancer prevention.
Methods         
The guidelines recommendations focus on   population-based Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) screen-and-treat strategies, with particular attention to identifying target populations across Europe’s diverse risk landscape, promoting effective treatment pathways, and ensuring antimicrobial stewardship. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework is used to assess the certainty of evidence and strength of recommendations. The methodology for the QA scheme development includes systematic review of existing quality indicators and evidence for association with people-important outcomes, designing of care pathways and overview of the organisation of healthcare settings providing services for the primary prevention of gastric cancer.
Results            
These guidelines will contain the first European evidence-based recommendations for gastric cancer prevention. The preparatory work for the QA scheme development will result in the future QA scheme manual that will support high-quality, people-centred implementation of H. pylori screen-and-treat programmes through the existing framework of the European co-operation for accreditation.
Conclusions and implications
A comprehensive overview of global gastric cancer prevention strategies will be provided, with a focus on the emerging European initiatives and the transformative role of EC-GaC in shaping coordinated cancer prevention efforts across Europe and globally.