This document discusses strategies for cancer screening and early detection, particularly for men. It identifies key topics such as cancer prevention, public health genomics, cancer registries, challenges in cancer care, and innovative therapies. It emphasizes the importance of encouraging screening and early detection for men through positive messages and identifying socially vulnerable groups. Challenges include developing approaches to increase preventative activities for men and identifying gaps through screening and early detection. Both screening and early detection are important but screening requires evidence of population-level benefits and not all cancers can be screened for. Early detection may encourage hesitant individuals and acknowledge the cancer issue. Current challenges include a lack of guidelines leaving room for variation and not adequately risk stratifying or involving primary care.

1. Reflections on early detection and
screening
Assoc Prof Tit Albreht, MD, PhD, Scientific Co-ordinator of iPAAC, NIJZ,
e-mail: tit.albreht@nijz.si

2. THE APPROACH AND THE STRUCTURE
Identified key topics:
- Cancer prevention
- Public health genomics
- Cancer registries in the future development of cancer care
- Challenges in cancer care
- Innovative therapies in cancer
- Governance of cancer care and cancer control
EPAD Brussels, 22 January 2019

3. Strategies focusing on men
• Generally – reducing the stigma of cancer in the society
• Encouraging positive messages from early detection and
screening
• Identifying social vulnerable groups of men who are even more
at risk due to their poor health literacy
• Promoting evidence-based and organised screening and early
detection programmes
EPAD Brussels, 22 January 2019

4. Challenges in men’s health
• Overall, men are more at risk for dying prematurely
• They are also at risk for their diseases in general to be detected
at later stages
• It is important to develop different approaches in stimulating their
responsiveness to preventative activities
• Both screening and early detection are important and relevant
strategies, but …
• … They require intense work with target populations and
identification of gaps
EPAD Brussels, 22 January 2019

5. Screening and early detection are equally
important
• Screening is complex and can only be introduced on solid
evidence on benefits at the population level
• Not all cancers can be screened for and/or might not be suitable
for a population-based screening programmes
• Screening will need to become stratified for some cancers with
very divergent risks
• Early detection strategies have a fringe benefit of bringing more
attention to the cancer and might encourage hesitating persons
EPAD Brussels, 22 January 2019

6. Challenges of the current situation
• No structured recommendations or guidelines, which leave
space to variation both within and across countries
• The magnitude of the problem is such that guidelines are
necessary, both from the point of view of efficiency as well as
from the perspective of transparency
• Risk stratification of the target population
• Involvement of the primary care professionals
• Reducing the burden of disease in the population, which is now
still active
EPAD Brussels, 22 January 2019

7. iPAAC – IMPLEMENTING FOR THE FUTURE
THANK YOU!
EPAD Brussels, 22 January 2019