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Key issues that need to be considered while revising the current annex of the European Council Recommendation (2003) on cancer screening
Author(s) -
Ponti Antonio,
Basu Partha,
Ritchie David,
Anttila Ahti,
Carvalho Andre L.,
Senore Carlo,
MallafréLarrosa Meritxell,
Piccinelli Cristiano,
Ronco Guglielmo,
Soerjomataram Isabelle,
PrimicŽakelj Maja,
Dillner Joakim,
Elfström Miriam K.,
Lönnberg Stefan,
Vale Diama B.,
Tomatis Mariano,
Armaroli Paola,
Giordano Livia,
Sankaranarayanan Rengaswamy,
Segnan Nereo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.32885
Subject(s) - medicine , sigmoidoscopy , family medicine , european union , population , mammography , cancer screening , randomized controlled trial , gynecology , cancer , colorectal cancer , breast cancer , environmental health , colonoscopy , pathology , business , economic policy
The 2003 European Council recommendation urging the Member States to introduce or scale up breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening through an organized population‐based approach has had a remarkable impact. We argue that the recommendation needs to be updated for at least two sets of reasons. First, some of the current clinical guidelines include new tests or protocols that were not available at the time of the Council document. Some have already been adopted by organized screening programs, such as newly defined age ranges for mammography screening, Human Papillomavirus (HPV)‐based cervical cancer screening, fecal immunochemical test (FIT) and sigmoidoscopy for colorectal cancer screening. Second, the outcomes of randomized trials evaluating screening for lung and prostate cancer have been published recently and the balance between harms and benefits needs to be pragmatically assessed. In the European Union, research collaboration and networking to exchange and develop best practices should be regularly supported by the European Commission. Integration between primary and secondary preventive strategies through comprehensive approaches is necessary not only to maximize the reduction in cancer burden but also to control the rising trend of other noncommunicable diseases sharing the same risk factors.