Despite the research being conducted, further knowledge about cancer diseases and how mortality changes over time is needed. Among other things, it is still not certain what factors affect cancer disease, why there are regional differences or why socio-economically vulnerable individuals are at greater risk of dying from cancer than others, the government says.

In order to strengthen the state of knowledge, the National Board of Health and Welfare is now given the government's mission to conduct in-depth data analyzes and follow-up of cancer cases. The goal is to get better knowledge base for policy decisions on the care of cancer patients and how best to prevent people from suffering from the disease.

- We have no really comprehensive picture of the development and mortality of various cancers. For example, we now have screening for breast cancer and cervical cancer, but we do not have sufficient knowledge of those who are ill with these diseases seeking treatment at an earlier stage today or if the cancer is still often detected later in the course of the disease, says Social Minister Lena Hallengren (S).

Reduce bureaucracy

The National Board of Health is also given the task of developing a standardization on how the care of cancer patients is documented, so that the journals become easier for others to find and reuse for research, for example. The hope is that digitized documentation can also increase patient safety and prevent cancer care staff from spending so much time on administrative work.

The National Board of Health and Welfare's mission is to be reported during 2021 and is part of the government's initiative against cancer, which will, among other things, shorten waiting times for care.