Cancer screening in China: The current status, challenges, and suggestions

Substantial progress has been made in cancer screening in China due to the substantial efforts of all levels of the government. Four large-scale population-based screening programs have been launched since 2005. In these programs, individuals at high risk for the most common types of cancer are screened with no cost. However, there are still wide gaps remaining between the cancer screening objectives and reality. In this review, we summarize the current status of cancer screening, identify the major achievements and challenges of cancer screening, and propose some suggested improvements based on the existing evidence. The main challenges include low participation rates, the uneven distribution of medical sources, inadequate funding, and insufficient screening quality. Some suggestions that should be considered to improve the quality of cancer screening include advertising to increase awareness, providing universal training of staff involved in screening programs, optimizing the definition of high-risk populations, integrating new technologies into cancer screening programs, and implementing appropriate management measures among individuals with positive screening results.