BRNO, 26 May 2026 – Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute (MMCI) has launched its new Cancer Prevention Centre. The Centre comprises seven specialized units covering all areas of cancer prevention. Its examination rooms and laboratories are equipped with state-of-the-art technologies. These include photon-counting CT, which provides high-quality imaging at a very low radiation dose. The Centre also has MRI scanners and mammography systems using artificial intelligence technologies to support faster tumour detection. A whole-body skin scanner will also be available. With the support of AI, it can examine the skin of the entire body within seconds. The Centre includes lecture halls and counselling services focused on cancer genetics, physical activity, nutrition, motivation and healthy lifestyle. It offers a range of educational activities, contributes to the training of specialists, and is involved in national and international research projects in prevention. Four-fifths of the costs were covered by European Union funds.

“The opening of the Centre is an important milestone in the further development of preventive programmes at MMCI, allowing us to expand our services and increase our prevention capacity. Thanks to the layout of the units, interdisciplinary cooperation among specialists and the use of state-of-the-art technologies, we will be able to deliver cancer screening programmes much more effectively. This allows us to provide personalized, family-focused prevention, while rapidly introducing new methods to mitigate lifestyle-related disease risks and detect tumours earlier,” explains Professor Marek Svoboda, Director of MMCI. “With its architectural design and artistic features, the new Centre is far from resembling a traditional hospital, a place many healthy people are reluctant to visit. We believe it will encourage more people to take part in prevention,” adds Professor Svoboda.

The construction and equipment of the MMCI Cancer Prevention Centre cost CZK 739.4 million. Most of the budget, CZK 579.3 million, was financed from the Czech National Recovery Plan under NextGenerationEU, the European Union’s extraordinary economic recovery programme. The state budget contributed CZK 121.6 million, while MMCI provided an additional CZK 38.5 million. Artistic interventions worth almost CZK 4 million were funded through sponsor donations.

“Health, and especially prevention, has long been extremely important to me. As early as 2021, health became one of the seven main pillars of the Czech National Recovery Plan, and we secured CZK 12 billion, or EUR 488.7 million, for this area. Of this amount, CZK 8.5 billion was allocated to strengthening cancer prevention and care, because cancer is one of the diseases that claims the most lives in our country. This funding helped build not only this excellent Centre at MMCI in Brno, but we will also soon be opening the new Motol Cancer Centre. More than CZK 3.5 billion went into the reconstruction and equipment of other comprehensive cancer centres across the country, including in the Karlovy Vary Region, where such a centre had been lacking,” says Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.

The high cancer burden across EU Member States, combined with projections that cancer deaths will rise by a quarter by 2035—making it the leading cause of death in the EU—led the European Commission to launch two key initiatives in 2021 to reverse this trend: Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan (EBCP) and the EU Mission on Cancer. “Fighting cancer, particularly through prevention and early detection, is a top priority for the European Commission. This effort requires robust, modern, and resilient healthcare systems. I therefore welcome the Czech Republic’s National Cancer Plan and its decision to allocate a significant share of funding from the European recovery instrument to healthcare. Thanks to its state-of-the-art equipment, the new Cancer Prevention Centre has the potential to become a model for others across Europe,” adds Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Health.

The ceremonial opening of the MMCI Cancer Prevention Centre marks the completion of the project entitled “Establishment and Development of the Cancer Prevention Centre and Infrastructure for Innovative and Supportive Care at Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute.” The total investment in MMCI exceeded CZK 1,123.4 million, or EUR 46.1 million. Of this amount, CZK 825.6 million, or EUR 33.9 million, was provided from European funds through the Czech National Recovery Plan, CZK 173.4 million, or EUR 7.1 million, came from the state budget, and CZK 124.4 million, or EUR 5.1 million, came from MMCI’s own resources. As part of the project, MMCI’s main building was also extended by the Entrance Pavilion, which now houses the Centre for Innovative and Supportive Care. Its ceremonial opening took place on 31 March 2026. The agreed timelines and expected costs were met, once again demonstrating that MMCI is capable of successfully delivering major investment projects.

“Prevention, supportive care, and the introduction of new medicines and technologies have a fundamental impact on both survival and quality of life for cancer patients. It was at Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute that the vision emerged to build a modern cancer prevention centre combining prevention, top-level diagnostics and innovative care. Given that MMCI is the largest oncology centre in the Czech Republic, this project will have a significant impact not only on Brno and the South Moravian Region, but on the entire Czech cancer care system. Together with other investments in comprehensive cancer centres across the country, we are significantly strengthening its resilience, accessibility and quality,” says Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch. “Support for prevention, modern treatment and clinical research is part of the Government’s policy statement and will continue in the coming years,” adds Minister Vojtěch.

In teaching and in the provision and development of primary prevention services, particularly those focused on physical activity and healthy lifestyle, the Cancer Prevention Centre will work closely with Masaryk University. This cooperation will make it possible to provide comprehensive preventive counselling, for example to people with a genetically determined increased risk of cancer, in whom an unhealthy lifestyle may significantly accelerate the development of cancer.

The facilities of the Centre and its primary prevention programmes are also to be used by the General Health Insurance Company of the Czech Republic, which has prepared a pilot programme called “Prevention on Prescription” together with MMCI. “The programme will be intended for people newly diagnosed with overweight, early-stage obesity or prediabetes, who may be able to prevent the development of chronic diseases by changing their lifestyle,” explains Ivan Duškov, Director of the General Health Insurance Company of the Czech Republic. The pilot programme will be launched in September 2026 in cooperation with general practitioners in the South Moravian Region. They will identify suitable patients and refer them to the MMCI Cancer Prevention Centre, where a three-month plan of physical and educational activities will be prepared for them. Clients will then be followed for a total period of nine months. “We expect that up to 250 clients of the General Health Insurance Company will take part in the programme over the almost two years during which it will run,” adds Director Duškov. Further details are available in the General Health Insurance Company’s press release on the programme.

The importance of today’s opening of the Cancer Prevention Centre is also reflected in the participation of directors of cancer institutes from Bratislava, Budapest, Leipzig and Warsaw, as well as a representative of the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes. “It is precisely cooperation with Czech and international institutions that gives the Centre the potential to become a model workplace for cancer prevention in the Czech Republic,” concludes Professor Svoboda.

Suplemantary Information

 

I) Preventive Programmes Implemented at the Cancer Prevention Centre

 

Genetic Counselling and Testing for Hereditary Syndromes

 

Primary Prevention

 

Physical Activity Counseling

Dietary Counselling

Smoking Cessation Counselling

Motivational Counselling for a Healthy Lifestyle

HPV Screening and Vaccination Counselling

Prophylactic Surgical and Reconstructive Procedures (as part of the surveillance and early detection programme for individuals with a genetically determined increased risk of developing cancer – hereditary cancer syndromes)

Secondary Prevention

 

Breast Cancer Screening

Colorectal Cancer Screening

Lung Cancer Screening

Prostate Cancer Screening

Pancreatic Cancer Screening for High-Risk Individuals (SCREPAN clinical trial)

Early Cancer Detection Programme for Individuals with a Genetically Determined Increased Risk of Cancer (hereditary cancer syndromes)

Skin Lesion Prevention and Early Detection Programme

Oncogynecological Prevention Programme

Preventive Oncology Programme for Everyone

Tertiary Prevention

Follow-Up Care for Cancer Survivors at Risk of Late Effects of Oncological Treatment (children, young adults, and adults up to 45 years of age after curative cancer treatment)

 

II) List of Departments at the Cancer Prevention Centre

 

Preventive Medicine Counseling Department

 

Department of Preventive Oncological Medical Examinations

 

Department of Medical Genetics

 

Medical Genetics Centre

 

Department of Preventive Education Programmes

 

Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research Unit

 

Biobank