World Cancer Day Message from the FPM Oncology Expert Group
Posted on: Wednesday 4 February 2026
On World Cancer Day (Wednesday 4 February), we take time to remember the people with cancer who are at the heart of everything we do. Even though many of us no longer work directly with patients, our jobs in research and medicine are still focused on helping people live longer and better lives by developing new cancer treatments and making sure they can be used effectively in healthcare systems.
Cancer treatment is advancing faster than ever. New types of medicines are being designed to deliver treatment more precisely to cancer cells, which may help them work better while causing fewer side effects. Treatments that use the body’s own immune system are no longer just for late-stage cancer — they are now being used earlier, with strong evidence showing they can improve long-term outcomes and even change the goal of treatment from control to cure for some patients.
Blood-based tests, often called liquid biopsies, are no longer just experimental. They are now being used in real healthcare settings to track cancer in real time and help doctors make better treatment decisions. This has led to new ways of thinking about cancer, such as detecting tiny amounts of disease that remain after treatment, which challenges and compliments older methods that relied mainly on scans.
Innovation is happening on many fronts. New immune-based treatments are starting to work in cancers that were once very difficult to treat. Cancer vaccines tailored to individual patients are getting closer to becoming a reality. Even long-established treatments, like hormone therapy, are being improved through new scientific approaches.
Importantly, better cancer care isn’t just about medicines. Supportive care — including lifestyle support, rehabilitation, and long-term survivorship care — is now recognised as a vital part of helping people live well during and after cancer.
On this World Cancer Day, we renew our commitment to working together, following the science, and putting patients first — with the goal of giving every person affected by cancer the right treatment, in the right amount, at the right time.
The FPM Oncology Expert Group
Members of the Oncology Expert Group as of February 2026
- Dr Michael Zaiac FFPM (Chair)
- Dr Claire Barton FFPM
- Professor Richard Kennedy
- Dr Austin Smith MFPM
- Dr Faisal Mehmud FFPM
- Dr Robert Miller FFPM
- Dr Yasser Mostafa Kamel FFPM
- Dr Gillies O’Bryan-Tear FFPM
- Dr Jane Robertson
New Blog
Read our latest blog written by Dr Austin Smith MFPM, with input from the Oncology Expert group, which explores how lifestyle support – especially physical activity and reducing sedentary time – can help people undergoing chemotherapy not only manage side effects like fatigue, but may also improve “hard outcomes” such as treatment response, recurrence risk, and survival in some cancers.
