Health Systems, Quality of Health Care, and Translational Cancer Research: The Role of the Istituto Superiore Sanità -Rome

Abstract

Faced with the challenge of ensuring high-quality and cost-effective health systems in the context of persistent financial crisis, a global strategy for cancer prevention and treatment represents a priority for public health bodies and governments. The key goals for the initiative are to define standards of cancer prevention and care while leveraging the continuous progress of biomedical research in the interest of public health. In Italy, the establishment of a network of Comprehensive Cancer Centres (CCC) named the Alliance Against Cancer (ACC) is an important initiative taken by the Ministry of Health to foster common strategies for enhancing the quality of oncology research and care at the national level. The Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) has played an important role in supporting ACC activities through a special national program called ISS for ACC, launched by the Italian Ministry of Health in 2006. A similar role has been pursued in subsequent initiatives, including ISS support for a project aimed at providing international accreditation of the CCC of the ACC, funded by the Italian Ministry of Health. The results of this initiative, reported in the current issue of Tumori, are especially significant since specific indicators of quality for research and cancer care have been successfully defined for all the participating institutes. As the leading technical and scientific body of the Italian National Health Service, the ISS will continue to play a proactive role in supporting national networks and strategic national and international initiatives aimed at promoting public health.