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National Cancer Prevention Week is a nationwide awareness and information campaign focused on cancer prevention. It is jointly organized by German Cancer Aid, the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), and the German Cancer Society (DKG). The goal is to inform the public about preventable cancer risks and to encourage healthy behaviors. Their shared vision is: “Cancer should not develop in the first place.”

Each year, the campaign week focuses on a different aspect of cancer prevention, such as physical activity, nutrition, smoking, vaccinations, or early cancer detection. Scientific findings are presented in an accessible manner and made available to the general public.

Every year, approximately 520,000 people in Germany are newly diagnosed with cancer. Experts estimate that a significant proportion of these cancer cases is preventable: According to the latest research, about 40 percent of all new cancer cases in Germany could be prevented through simple preventive measures.

Modifiable risk factors include, for example:

• Smoking and secondhand smoke,
• alcohol consumption,
• lack of physical activity,
• being overweight,
• an unhealthy diet,
• and lack of vaccinations against certain cancer-causing viruses such as HPV.

Cancer Prevention Week takes place every year in September. The exact dates vary from year to year.

German Cancer Aid and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) launched the first Cancer Prevention Week in September 2019. Since 2021, the German Cancer Society (DKG) has also been an official partner.

Cancer Prevention Week is also supported by the 16 state cancer societies and other partners and organizations.

The activities of Cancer Prevention Week are generally aimed at the entire population of Germany.

However, depending on the thematic focus, other target groups are also addressed, such as

• representatives from politics, local governments, and the media;
• professionals in educational, recreational, and sports facilities;
• medical professionals and those in the public health sector;
• occupational health management professionals and company physicians.

Cancer Prevention Week draws attention to the great potential of prevention. The vision: to prevent cancer from developing in the first place.

In doing so, it pursues several goals:

1. Raise awareness about cancer prevention.
   Everyone should understand that their own lifestyle can influence their risk of developing cancer. We educate people about the most important factors for long-term health—and where the limits of cancer prevention lie.
    
2. Motivate people to adopt health-conscious behaviors.
   People should be motivated to make decisions that promote good health. This includes, for example, not smoking, being more physically active, and consuming little to no alcohol.
    
3. Anchor prevention permanently in the public consciousness.
   Cancer prevention is a task for society as a whole. That is why, as part of this week, we are also calling on policymakers and local governments to create environments that facilitate health-conscious behavior.
    
4. Reducing the number of new cancer cases.
   The overarching goal is to reduce the number of preventable cancer cases in Germany and to improve the health of the population in the long term.