UEG calls for

• Foster means and measures for prevention is essential to decrease the burden of digestive diseases. Due to the projected rise in “ unhealthy behaviour” and the ageing population the health related and economical of this burden will rise simultaneously.
  
  
• Prioritise research into the underlying mechanisms and focus our resources and training on novel, targeted prevention strategies of paediatric liver disease, emerging as one of the most worrisome complications of childhood obesity.
  
  
• Research on the causes of inflammatory bowel disease, coeliac disease, chronic pancreatitis and functional gastrointestinal disorders, which are still not fully known.
  
  
• Focus on screening programmes to improve sustainable health care systems. Participation rates to colorectal screening programmes vary widely across Europe and further research into robust biomarkers should be prioritised.
  
  
• Further concerted research on microbiome to open new strategies for prevention and treatment. 
  
  
• increase funding in the field of disruptive technologies in gastroenterology. There is still a need for improvement in endoscopic techniques and concerns over the precision and provision of endoscopic ultrasounds for pancreatic cancer detection

Digestive cancers are the leading cause of cancer-related death (28%). 
UEG welcomes the European Mission on Cancer and makes the following recommendations:

• Research to understanding the causes of the worrying increase of Colorectal Cancer´s incidence rates in adults aged 20-39
• Identify the correct tools to achieve earlier diagnosis and implement innovative treatment methods of Pancreatic Cancer, the deadliest cancer
• Focus on other digestive cancers, like gastric and oesophageal cancers, characterized by a particularly bad prognosis, and potentially preventable (adapted screening, early detection).