Rare cancers

RARECARE (EU) defines rare cancers as incidence <6/100,000/year; there are ~200 such entities making up ~24% of European cancers, with 5-year survival ~48% versus ~63% for common cancers. Causes of the gap: diagnostic delay and misdiagnosis, absence of standard treatments, difficulty running trials (basket/umbrella designs, registries, real-world evidence help), and dispersed care. Responses: European Reference Networks (EURACAN, EuroBloodNet, PaedCan), centralisation (e.g. sarcoma centres), the NCI Rare Tumor Patient Engagement Network, Rare Cancers Europe, orphan-drug incentives and tumour-agnostic approvals (NTRK, MSI-H, RET, BRAF) that serve rare histologies. Paediatric cancers are all rare cancers.