CANCER IN THE NETHERLANDS
FACTS & FIGURES | CANCER ATLAS | DUTCH SCREENING PROGRAMS | THE NETHERLANDS CANCER AGENDA
Facts & Figures
FACTS & FIGURES | CANCER ATLAS | DUTCH SCREENING PROGRAMS | THE NETHERLANDS CANCER AGENDA
Cancer Atlas
The Dutch Cancer Atlas shows the impact of cancer by region in the Netherlands.
To access the English version of the Dutch Cancer Atlas, click on ‘Direct naar Kankeratlas’ below, and once inside the atlas, click the ‘Change language’ button at the bottom of the screen.
This interactive digital atlas displays patterns of how frequently specific types of cancer occur (incidence), based on where people were living at the time they were diagnosed. It covers the 24 most common types of cancer in the Netherlands, as well as cancer overall.
Go to the Dutch Cancer Atlas here
For questions about the Cancer Atlas, please contact Marieke Louwman, team leader of researchers IKNL.
FACTS & FIGURES | CANCER ATLAS | DUTCH SCREENING PROGRAMS | THE NETHERLANDS CANCER AGENDA
Dutch Screening Programs
In the Netherlands we have three cancer screening programs: breast screening, cervical screening and bowel cancer screening. Health screening is offered by the government. Participation is free and voluntary. Health screening is carried out by the health screening organisation, Bevolkingsonderzoek Nederland and are coordinated by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). Monitoring helps to ensure the quality of the screening program and identifies trends.
Data from IKNL’s Netherlands Cancer Registry (NKR) are used to monitor the effectiveness and outcomes of the screening programs.
FACTS & FIGURES | CANCER ATLAS | DUTCH SCREENING PROGRAMS | THE NETHERLANDS CANCER AGENDA
The Netherlands Cancer Agenda
- Sets goals for the phases 'life before, with and after cancer'
- Creates an overview of the most important initiatives in the Netherlands
- Accelerates and connects existing initiatives
- Prioritises goals and describes a concrete approach
- Increases attention to underexposed themes
- Ensures that all initiatives move in the same direction
Download The Netherlands Cancer Agenda
Cancer Mission Hubs
One of our key contributions is as an initiator and partner of the Netherlands Cancer Collective (Nederlands Kanker Collectief-NKC), an independent and inclusive collaboration of more than 140 stakeholders from within and beyond the healthcare sector. The collective brings together knowledge, capacity, and resources from diverse partners, based on the belief that cancer is too complex a challenge to tackle in isolation — and that we must keep the needs of citizens and patients at the heart of our efforts.
Together, we are implementing the Netherlands Cancer Agenda - a results-oriented, forward-looking plan with 20 ambitious goals and concrete actions till 2032. The agenda focuses on accelerating progress on urgent issues and fostering breakthroughs, while also addressing health inequalities, improving quality of life and reducing the need for care through prevention.
As part of the EU-funded ECHoS project (Establishing Cancer Mission Hubs: Networks and Synergies), IKNL contributes to building the Dutch Cancer Mission Hub through the Netherlands Cancer Collective (NKC). In doing so, we help connect national efforts with European ambitions, ensuring that Dutch knowledge, innovation, and data infrastructures contribute to — and benefit from — Europe’s collective fight against cancer.