MSD Belgium joins Love Tomorrow Summit 2026 on 23 July at Tomorrowland in Boom, Belgium.

There is a category of cancer that medical science has largely figured out. The vaccine exists. The evidence is robust. Prevention is possible, and in Belgium, now more accessible than ever following the recent expansion of HPV vaccine reimbursement.

Yet HPV-related cancers still affect thousands of people every year. Not because the tools are absent. Because the conversation around them often is.

That is what MSD Belgium is bringing to Love Tomorrow Summit.

A Virus That Affects Everyone

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common infections in the world. Most people who are sexually active will encounter it at some point in their lives. In the majority of cases, the immune system clears it without symptoms. But in some cases, persistent HPV infection can lead to cancer: cervical, anal, throat, mouth, vulvar, vaginal and penile cancers among them.

This is not a niche health issue. It affects men and women, across age groups, across populations. And yet awareness remains fragmented, partly because of the stigma that still surrounds anything connected to sexual transmission.

That stigma has real consequences. It delays conversations between patients and doctors. It shapes who gets screened and who does not. It determines, in many cases, whether a preventable cancer gets prevented.

The Science of Prevention

Pierre Van Damme has spent over 35 years studying vaccine-preventable infections. As Director of the Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination at Vaccinopolis (University of Antwerp), part of the European Plotkin Institute for Vaccinology, he has overseen more than 550 vaccine trials and authored over 600 peer-reviewed publications. His career is a sustained argument for what becomes possible when immunisation policy is grounded in rigorous evidence.

For Van Damme, the HPV vaccine represents one of the clearest cases in modern vaccinology: a tool that works, that is safe, and that can prevent a significant proportion of HPV-related cancers when administered at the right time.

Magali Surmont approaches the same question from inside the clinic. A gastroenterologist at Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel and PhD researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, her work focuses on anal HPV infections, anal cancer screening and the prevention of HPV-related anal disease in high-risk populations. As European co-chair of the International Anal Neoplasia Society Growing the Workforce initiative, she is expanding education and clinical training in high-resolution anoscopy across Europe.

Together, Van Damme and Surmont bring the full range of the prevention argument: from population-level immunisation policy to the specific, often overlooked gaps in clinical detection and care.

A Conversation That Is Overdue

Belgium recently expanded HPV vaccine reimbursement, opening the door for more people than ever to access prevention. The science is clear. The tools are available. What remains is the harder work: making prevention feel personal, urgent and possible for the people who need it most.

That is what the MSD Belgium panel at Love Tomorrow Summit sets out to do. By bringing together medical experts, survivors and young advocates, the conversation moves beyond data and into the human dimension of prevention. Who gets to know about it. Who feels seen by it. Who acts on it.

A cancer that is largely preventable should be largely prevented. The only thing missing is the conversation to make it happen.

Love Tomorrow Summit. 23 July 2026. Tomorrowland, Boom, Belgium. Tickets at https://www.lovetomorrow.com/love-tomorrow-summit/tickets