Brussels - The European Commission on Wednesday called on EU member states to join forces in their fight against cancer, the second highest cause of death in the 27-member bloc.

Officials said national health authorities could avoid duplicating research projects and put their money to better use by pooling their resources.

Under a proposed European Partnership for Action against Cancer, health care professionals, academics, pharmaceutical companies and patient groups would work together to "identify gaps, address needs and learn from each other," the commission said.

Some 3.2 million Europeans are diagnosed with cancer each year. But the disease is not evenly distributed among member states, and the chances of surviving a tumour vary greatly within the EU.

For instance, the incidence of cancer among men in 2006 was highest in Hungary, Belgium, France, Ireland, Lithuania and Italy. But the mortality rate was highest in Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland and the Baltics.

Similarly, the mortality rate among Danish women was nearly double what it was among women in Spain.

The reasons for such differences - such as whether they are due to lifestyles or prevention levels - would also be explored in the proposed plan.

The first of what the European Commission hopes will become a series of regular meetings among EU health care experts is due to take place in September in Brussels.

"Action at European level can make a real difference for cancer patients and their relatives, right across the Union. I hope that the European Partnership marks the beginning of a European movement which galvanizes political support and collective action to seriously reduce the cancer rate in Europe," said EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, whose homeland of Cyprus has the lowest incidence of cancer in Europe. (dpa)