Background
The Cancer Screening in Five Continents (CanScreen5) initiative is a flagship project of IARC that aims to strengthen cancer screening programmes by promoting evidence-based screening policies and practices. CanScreen5 harmonises and collects validated programme data to assess quality and supports countries in implementing well-organised, high-quality screening programmes. The initiative includes an interactive web platform that enables the visualisation of data and key performance indicators on cervical, breast, and colorectal cancer screening programmes. These data are sourced directly from national/regional programmes and validated through peer-review. The capacity building element of CanScreen5 is of central importance and it is facilitated by a multilingual Master Trainer programme combining self-paced online learning and in-person training.

Objectives
The objective of CanScreen5 capacity-building programme is to strengthen national and regional capacity to monitor, evaluate, and improve cancer screening programmes through standardized data collection, validation, and use of key performance indicators (KPIs). The programme aims to equip cancer screening managers, health professionals, and researchers with practical skills to support quality assurance, programme management, and evidence-informed decision-making.

Results
Since 2021, CanScreen5 has implemented a comprehensive training strategy composed of two complementary components adapted to participants’ roles and experience. The first component consists of a self-paced online course, “Improving the Quality of Cancer Screening”, available in English, French, Spanish, and Russian. This course covers screening principles, programme planning and implementation and quality assurance. There is a module on how to use CanScreen5 platform for data submission. As of 2025, 4,288 participants from 179 countries have successfully completed the online courses, reflecting a broad global reach across regions and income settings.
The second component is a Master Trainer programme targeting cancer screening managers and senior health professionals. This programme combines approximately 24 hours of online learning—self-paced modules, interactive webinars, and country-specific assignments—with an intensive four-day face-to-face workshop. The in-person component focuses on programme organization and governance, information systems, identification of implementation barriers, stakeholder engagement, communication strategies, and development of national training and scale-up plans. Between 2021 and 2025, six regional workshops were delivered in partnership with WHO regional offices and Ministries of Health, engaging 109 cancer screening managers across all WHO regions—Africa, Asia, the Asia–Pacific, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
A significant outcome of the training is the successful collection and validation of qualitative and quantitative screening data. All participating countries completed structured data submission to the CanScreen5 platform with support from dedicated data stewards and the Secretariat. The validation process involved iterative review by the CanScreen5 Scientific Committee, resulting in harmonized, high-quality datasets suitable for estimating KPIs, monitoring programme implementation, and enabling cross-country comparisons.

Conclusion / Impact
CanScreen5 demonstrates that integrating capacity building with standardized data collection and validation can substantially strengthen national cancer screening programmes. By enabling countries to generate and use high-quality performance data and by fostering a global community of trained professionals, CanScreen5 supports continuous quality improvement, stronger programme governance, and evidence-informed policymaking, contributing to more equitable cancer prevention and early detection worldwide.