The Regent Taipei served as the venue for the 2026 Cancer Summit, jointly convened by the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (AmCham Taiwan) and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). The event’s main theme was “Advancing ‘Healthy Taiwan’: Setting Global Benchmarks through Strategic Investment.” It brought together key figures from across government agencies, healthcare management, academic institutions, and patient groups. Discussions focused on transforming high-level healthcare targets into actionable policy, maximizing the impact of the NT$10 billion Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF), and aligning local reimbursement coverage with modern international clinical guidelines. These overarching objectives directly support President Lai Ching-te’s mandate to decrease national cancer mortality rates by one-third prior to 2030.

Opening the forum, AmCham Taiwan President Carl Wegner underscored the summit’s function as an essential bridge for multi-sector alignment. Reaffirming the Chamber’s commitment to supporting the “Healthy Taiwan” roadmap, Wegner noted that strong cross-sector partnerships are vital to transforming scientific breakthroughs into practical patient care while constructing a future-ready healthcare network. He commended ongoing initiatives by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) and the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) to expand diagnostic screening programs and expedite access to targeted medical treatments.

AIT Director Raymond Greene delivered opening remarks emphasizing that addressing cancer as a global challenge requires strong global cooperation. He noted that the United States and Taiwan have much to learn from one another, calling on stakeholders to celebrate innovation and share useful perspectives to translate shared priorities into meaningful action. Greene also stressed the importance of balancing “faster access and financial accountability” as Taiwan addresses the issue through its own needs.

The program proceeded with a Grand Keynote Dialogue moderated by South-Link Medical Foundation Chairperson Felice Lee, featuring MOHW Minister Shih Chung-liang and Institute of Clinical Medicine and Department of Surgery at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) College of Medicine’s Dr. Shan Yan-shen. Minister Shih detailed the administration’s fiscal commitment to preventative care, explaining that government screening budgets were expanded by NT$4 billion to reach NT$6.8 billion in 2025 to catch malignancies earlier and work in tandem with the newly launched CDF.

NHIA Deputy Director-General Yen Chia-jui subsequently delivered a keynote address outlining administrative measures to integrate health data, enhance Health Technology Assessment (HTA) capacity, and streamline provisional payment schemes to shorten the timeline for listing breakthrough oncology drugs.

The summit’s first panel, “Accelerating Patient Access, Ensuring Sustainable Healthcare Investment,” was moderated by Taiwan Oncology Society President Dr. Chen Jen-shi. Dr. Chen summarized the government’s multi-pronged investment approach — encompassing expanded public screening, Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) coverage benefiting over 20,000 patients annually, and growing the CDF to its full target scale of NT$10 billion by 2026. He noted that as of late 2025, over 12,300 patients had already benefitted from the fund, with 20 new drug listings and 16 indication expansions, representing approximately NT$12.2 billion in committed payments to date.

Chairperson and professor at the Institute of Hospital and Healthcare Administration at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Nicole Huang provided economic analysis, explaining that health spending inherently outpaces broader economic growth due to technological advancement and rising national income. She argued that one-time budgetary injections cannot replace long-term structural reform, advocating for public consensus on health financing alongside a value-focused mindset among healthcare providers. Taiwan Society of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine President Dr. Chen Yuh-min discussed lung cancer’s status as Taiwan’s primary cause of cancer death for over two decades. Citing Low-Dose CT screening data that yielded an 81.4% early-stage diagnosis rate, Dr. Chen called for extending precision post-surgical adjuvant therapies to early-stage cases to achieve true stage migration.

Formosa Cancer Foundation Vice CEO Jane Tsai reviewed early CDF operational metrics, pointing out that first-year actual payouts accounted for NT$1.33 billion of the NT$5 billion budget, a payout rate of 26.5%, which was primarily due to administrative setup lag. To optimize fund performance, she proposed launching a transparent, patient-friendly dashboard, establishing expedited review channels, standardizing real-world evidence (RWE) metrics, and securing statutory backing via Cancer Prevention Act amendments. Hope Foundation for Cancer Care Vice Chairperson Bruce Luo Sheng-dean raised concerns regarding the 2027 transition period, when CDF funding for 15 provisionally listed drugs will end. Those drugs will then need to be covered by regular NHI global budgets, at a cost of over NT$1.8 billion. He urged proactive financial planning, structured co-payment models, and exploring alternative funding streams like dedicated sugar, alcohol, or carbon levies.

Rejoining the discussion, Deputy Director-General Yen affirmed the NHIA’s dedication to monitoring real-world outcome data and collaborating with industry partners to maintain fiscal predictability while widening access to care.

The second panel, “Aligning with Global Standards, Strengthening Comprehensive Care Pathways,” was mo-derated by National Taiwan University (NTU) Executive Vice President Dr. James Yang Chih-hsin. Discussion focused on bridging gaps between local reimbursement criteria and international clinical care guidelines. Breast Cancer Society of Taiwan President Dr. Chen Fang-ming pointed out that breast cancer mortality in Taiwan has continued rising, in contrast to other nations where it is trending downward. He identified pressing coverage gaps, noting that over 60% of high-risk, early-stage HR+/HER2- patients currently lack access to CDK4/6 inhibitors, while calling for first-line Trop-2 antibody-drug conjugate reimbursement for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.

Taiwan Association of Gynecologic Oncologists President Dr. Cheng Ya-min addressed the increasing incidence of endometrial and ovarian malignancies. She emphasized that gynecologic cancers diminish female life expectancy by an average of 20 years, urging an overhaul of two-decade-old NHI fee schedules for complex cytoreductive surgeries alongside broader coverage for immunotherapies and targeted agents. NTU Hospital Division of Medical Oncology Attending Physician Dr. Tsai Yu-chieh discussed urological cancers, emphasizing that 30% of prostate cancer patients present at Stage IV. He advocated for earlier combination regimens in metastatic urothelial carcinoma and renal cell carcinoma (RCC), highlighting data where adjuvant immunotherapy reduced recurrence risks in high-risk RCC by 34%. The Hematology Society of Taiwan Chairperson Dr. Hou Hsin-an contributed insights on blood cancers, urging the establishment of centralized diagnostic networks and Minimal Residual Disease monitoring protocols to align hematologic care with global standards.

In closing remarks, NCKU’s Dr. Shan Yan-shen delivered a candid assessment of the work required to hit President Lai’s goal: “By 2030, we need to lower cancer mortality by one third,” he said. He emphasized that strategic policy alignment, early intervention, and multi-sector collaboration will remain essential to overcome future challenges and establish Taiwan as a global benchmark in cancer care.

“It is impossible to achieve this without encountering obstacles and hurdles along the way,” said Dr. Shan. Finally, he called on hospitals in Taiwan, particularly when conducting clinical trials, to take suggestions from across Taiwan’s robust cancer care ecosystem to identify opportunities for cooperation.

The 2026 Cancer Summit was supported by AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Gilead, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, MSD, Novartis Taiwan, and Pfizer.