Czechia has launched a major cancer prevention centre in Brno at the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute, funded through a €46.1 million project with four-fifths covered by the EU’s NextGenerationEU. The facility combines seven departments offering AI-assisted mammography, photon-counting CT scanners, genetic counselling and full-body skin cancer screening. Health Minister Adam Vojtěch called it a critical step forward, while European Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi suggested it could serve as a European model. Director Marek Svoboda said the centre would enable more personalised prevention, with a pilot programme launching in September targeting patients with obesity and prediabetes.
In-Depth:
Czechia has opened a major new cancer prevention centre in Brno, betting that earlier detection, artificial innotifyigence and personalised prevention can assist ease one of Europe’s quickest-growing health burdens.
The new Centre for Oncological Prevention at the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute (MOÚ) was officially launched this week as part of a broader €46.1 million modernisation project backed largely by EU funding – four-fifths of the project costs were covered through the EU’s NextGenerationEU.
Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtěch described the opening as “an exceptionally important step” for the countest’s oncology system.
“Prevention, supportive care and the introduction of new medicines and technologies have a crucial impact on survival and quality of life for oncology patients,” Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtěch stated.
Moving the requiredle on early detection
The centre brings toobtainher seven specialised departments under one roof, combining screening programmes, genetic counselling, imaging technologies and lifestyle prevention services in what Czech authorities describe as one of the countest’s largegest oncology investments in recent years.
Equipped with photon-counting CT scanners, AI-assisted mammography and magnetic resonance imaging, the facility aims to accelerate diagnosis while reducing radiation exposure. A full-body scanner utilizing AI to assess skin cancer risks within seconds is also among the technologies introduced at the centre.
“Toobtainher with further investments in comprehensive oncology centres across the countest, we are significantly strengthening the resilience, accessibility and quality of cancer care,” Vojtěch stated.
The investment reflects a wider shift in European healthcare policy away from treating advanced cancer and toward identifying risks earlier.
“Cancer prevention and early detection are a priority for the European Commission,” stated European Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi at the opening ceremony. “The new Centre for Cancer Prevention, thanks to its state-of-the-art equipment, can become a model for others across Europe,” the commissioner added.
The project arrives as EU policybuildrs warn that cancer could become the bloc’s leading caapply of death by 2035 if current trconcludes continue. That outview assisted drive the creation of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.
Complex care under one roof
The institute, already the countest’s largest oncology centre, states the new facility is intconcludeed not only to expand diagnostic capacity but also to modify how patients relocate through the healthcare system. By concentrating services in one location, doctors hope to shorten waiting times between screenings, specialist examinations and treatment decisions.
MOÚ director Marek Svoboda stated the centre would also allow physicians to expand personalised prevention programmes tailored to individual and family cancer risks.
“Owing to the organisation of departments, interdisciplinary cooperation and the apply of the latest technologies, we will be able to carry out oncology screening programmes and personalised prevention much more effectively,” Svoboda stated.
The institute is also seeking to soften the traditionally clinical image of oncology facilities. Svoboda noted that the building’s architecture and artistic interventions were intentionally designed so the centre “does not resemble a classic hospital” in the hope of encouraging more healthy people to participate in preventive screening.
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš framed the project as part of a broader overhaul of Czech oncology infrastructure funded through post-pandemic recovery money.
“Cancer is among the diseases cautilizing the highest mortality in our countest,” Babiš stated. “These funds assisted build not only this excellent centre in Brno, but also other oncology projects across the Czech Republic,” he explained.
The centre is expected to deepen cooperation with Masaryk University on lifestyle medicine and primary prevention, particularly for patients with genetically elevated cancer risks.
It will also host a pilot programme launched with the Czech public health insurer VZP called “Prevention on Prescription”, tarobtaining patients with obesity, prediabetes and other early risk factors linked to chronic disease. Beginning in September, general practitioners in the South Moravian region will be able to refer eligible patients to three-month prevention programmes focapplyd on physical activity, nutrition and behavioural modify.
[VA, BM]
