Introduction
The Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region carries a substantial cancer burden, with about 1.55 million new cases and 749,000 deaths in 2022. Incidence and mortality vary widely across countries, with prostate, breast, colorectal, lung, and stomach cancers most common, and lung, colorectal, prostate, and breast cancers leading in mortality. These patterns highlight persistent gaps in early detection and treatment and point to the need for strengthened prevention and cancer control strategies across the region.

Across the Latin American and Caribbean region, cancer screening programmes show substantial heterogeneity in implementation, governance, digital infrastructure, and maturity. Through a joint effort between the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), several countries contributed detailed organizational and quality-related information to the CanScreen5 global platform. This collaboration strengthens regional capacity by documenting programme performance, identifying gaps, and supporting alignment with WHO cancer control initiatives. This abstract synthesizes reported organizational and quality assurance elements for breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung cancer screening across CELAC Member States.

Methods
Countries provided between October 2025 to April 2026 an update of their structured and narrative information according to CanScreen5’s essential and desirable elements framework, covering governance, service delivery, information systems, and quality assurance. Inputs included coded variables and narrative descriptions compiled into country fact sheets. Data from the CELAC dataset were reviewed for completeness, identifying patterns in programme maturity and documentation across cancer sites.

Results
Breast cancer screening: Several CELAC countries report established or partially established programmes, mostly based on mammography. However, core system elements—active invitation, unique identifiers, integrated electronic information systems, and quality assurance—remain limited across the region.
Cervical cancer screening: Most countries implement cervical screening using combinations of cytology, HPV testing, and VIA, yet documentation of referral pathways, information systems, and quality assurance is inconsistent. Active invitation systems are reported by only a few countries.
Colorectal cancer screening: Organized programmes are uncommon. Only a handful of countries report FIT-based screening activity, and systematic information on governance, monitoring, and data systems is largely absent, suggesting that most activity remains opportunistic.
Lung cancer screening: No country reports an organized programme. Available submissions indicate only pilot-level or research-oriented initiatives, without structured data on eligibility, test modality, or quality systems.

Conclusions
The joint IARC–PAHO effort to document screening systems through CanScreen5 provides the most comprehensive regional snapshot to date of screening programme organization in CELAC. The dataset reveals substantial progress in breast and cervical cancer screening in several countries but also underscores critical gaps in invitation systems, digital data integration, cancer registry linkage, and quality assurance. No organized screening programmes are currently implemented in the region for colorectal and lung cancer.
By reinforcing collaboration between PAHO and IARC, these findings create a foundation for supporting CELAC countries to enhance governance, improve data systems, and advance toward high-quality, population-based cancer screening aligned with WHO global cancer initiatives.