International nursing and palliative care organisations are calling for urgent investment in the nursing workforce as cancer cases are projected to rise sharply worldwide. The International Council of Nurses (ICN), International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care, and International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) issued a joint statement in response to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Status Report on Cancer 2026.
The WHO report projects that annual cancer diagnoses could almost double by 2050, reaching 35 million cases. It also highlights significant inequalities in cancer survival, with five-year breast cancer survival at 87 per cent in high-income countries compared with 42 per cent in many low-income countries.
The three organisations said the report demonstrates that medicines and technology alone will not be enough to meet the growing cancer burden. Stronger health systems and a well-supported nursing and multidisciplinary workforce are essential to improving outcomes. They are urging governments and health systems to make sustained investments in nursing and care that prioritises quality of life, equitable access, and support for patients and families throughout the cancer journey.
The joint statement warns that workforce shortages, burnout, and poor retention are putting the quality, safety, and continuity of cancer care at risk. The organisations called for investment in nursing education, retention, safe staffing, continuing professional development, and advanced practice roles.
They also stressed the importance of specialist cancer nursing as treatments become increasingly complex, calling for greater investment in cancer nursing education, nurse-led services, and nursing leadership. Palliative care was highlighted as a core component of cancer care, including for children. The ICPCN called for national cancer strategies to include children’s palliative care, access to pain relief, trained nurses within multidisciplinary teams, and family-centred models of care
ICN President, José Luis Cobos Serrano, said: “The report’s title, ‘The Future We Choose Together’, is exactly right. We cannot continue to accept avoidable deaths, unequal treatment outcomes, and unacceptable working conditions for health professionals. It is time to choose a future in which cancer care is equitable, person-centred, and accessible, and the nursing and health workforce is fully supported and empowered.
“Nurses are the largest part of the health workforce, the most trusted health professionals, and often the first, most frequent, and most continuous point of contact for people affected by cancer. Across the cancer journey, they provide prevention education, vaccination, screening, early detection, treatment support, psychosocial care, rehabilitation, coordination, and palliative care.
“Leaders must make the choice to structurally enable nurses through funded nursing workforce plans, safe staffing, decent working conditions, and continued education and leadership roles. That is how nurses can transform health systems to deliver care that reaches people earlier, supports positive treatment outcomes, reduces suffering, and protects dignity at every stage.”
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