Malignant tumors rank the first cause of death among urban and rural residents in China, and the number of incidence and death of malignant tumors in China has been increasing year by year for many years, and the disease burden is becoming more and more serious.

The World Health Organization (WHO) proposed that malignant tumors are preventable and treatable, 1/3 of malignant tumors can be prevented, 1/3 of malignant tumors can be cured if diagnosed early, 1/3 of malignant tumors can be prolonged by reasonable and effective palliative treatment to alleviate pain; and proposed a three-level prevention strategy for malignant tumors: primary prevention eliminates The primary prevention is to eliminate risk factors and causes (such as various carcinogens and carcinogenic conditions, etc.) and improve cancer prevention ability (such as appropriate diet and physical exercise, etc.); secondary prevention is to achieve early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment to stop or delay the occurrence and development of malignant tumors; tertiary prevention is to provide reasonable treatment and rehabilitation for patients who have already suffered from tumors to increase survival rate and improve quality of life. Malignant tumor screening is an important means of secondary prevention.

Malignant tumor screening refers to the process of detecting patients with early tumors or precancerous lesions from asymptomatic people through quick, easy and effective methods. The purpose of malignant tumor screening is to reduce tumor mortality and morbidity through early detection and early treatment, and to improve patient treatment and prognosis outcomes.

The WHO Regional Office for Europe 2022 has published concise guidelines on malignancy screening, which clarify several important ideas and concepts and focus on providing recommendations for policy makers and professionals.

The guidelines emphasize that screening programs for malignancy supported by adequate evidence are expected to be effective in improving malignancy outcomes, but professionals and policy makers should be fully aware that all screening programs are risky and that several key issues should be addressed in conducting malignancy screening, including: whether the risks and benefits of screening are acceptable; whether they are supported by adequate evidence-based medical evidence; whether existing diagnostic and treatment pathways The first is whether the risk and benefit of screening are acceptable; whether it is supported by adequate evidence-based medical evidence; whether existing diagnostic and treatment pathways can support a high-quality screening program; and whether there are sufficient economic and human resources to guarantee it.

Second, screening should provide a complete pathway and process, not just a simple test or examination. From identifying the target population eligible for screening, to confirming the screening method and screening cycle, to diagnosing and treating those who screen positive, a screening program is effective only when all parts of the screening pathway are functioning properly. Before initiating a screening program or scaling up screening, policymakers must ensure that all steps of the screening pathway are available.