09 | Screening

Work package 9 creates guide for better governance, organisation and evaluation of cancer screening

This work package creates guidance and principles for good practices in the planning, implementation, management and evaluation of the population-based cancer screening, as a part of national cancer control policies.

The Council of the EU has recommended that population-based cancer screening with systematic quality assurance at all levels must be accessible to citizens who may benefit from it. Screening programmes are recommended for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers with demonstrated methods and policies.

In the current economic situation, re-organisation of screening services is an issue in several member states. Re-organisation may also be needed because of developments in novel complementary primary prevention, for instance HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening.

Before deciding on any possible new cancer screening programmes, the following must be carefully evaluated:

• infrastructure (personnel, equipment, premises)
• financial resources
• implementation (randomization preferred for adequate evaluation of performance and effectiveness)  
• treatment facilities
• data registration

Guidance includes:

• legal and organisational frameworks for such things as planning and introducing recommended programmes in regions or settings where they do not yet exist;
• modifying or stopping ongoing programmes with new tests, treatments, policies or organisational models; and
• evaluations for decisions on possible new cancer screening programmes (other than for breast, cervical or colorectal cancer).

Cost-effective service screening programmes and sustainable models for funding are in focus. 

More information:

The Cancer Society of Finland, CSF, is the leader of work package 9. For further information, contact Ahti Anttila at ahti.anttila@cancer.fi

The associated partners involved in the work package: 

• National Center of Public Health and Analyses, NCPHA, ncpha@ncpha.government.bg (Bulgraria)
• Croatian Institute of Public Health (Hrvatski zavod za javno zdravstvo, HZJZ), hzjz@hzjz.hr (Croatia)
• The French National Cancer Institute, INCA, cancerinfo@institutcancer.fr (France)
• Riga East University Hospital, REUH, pieraksts@aslimnica.lv (Latvia)
• National Cancer Institute, NCI, birute.aleknaviciene@nvi.lt (Lithuania)
• Department of Public Health of Erasmus Medical Centre, EMC, mgz@erasmusmc.nl (the Netherlands)
• Oslo University hospital, OUS, post@ous-hf.no (Norway)
• The Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of Valencia Region (la Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana) FISABIO, molina_anabar@gva.es (Spain)