Cancer Prevention, Screening, and Early Detection

Cancer prevention, screening, and early detection are central to reducing cancer burden, improving survival, and limiting treatment intensity. Evidence-based prevention (e.g., vaccination, tobacco control, and risk-reduction strategies) can avert cancers before they start, while well-designed screening programs can detect disease at more treatable stages. However, progress is uneven. Screening uptake varies widely, benefits and harms differ across populations, and real-world programs must manage false positives, overdiagnosis, and downstream interventions. Meanwhile, advances in risk prediction, molecular and imaging biomarkers, and AI-enabled diagnostics are expanding the possibilities of early detection, raising new questions about clinical utility, implementation, and equity. In this Research Topic, we invite critical syntheses and perspectives that clarify where the field stands, what evidence is most actionable, and what should be prioritized next.This Research Topic aims to provide authoritative, practice-relevant syntheses of current evidence for cancer prevention, screening, and early detection across cancer types and healthcare settings. It will critically evaluate benefits, harms, and uncertainties, with explicit attention to methodological limitations, bias, and real-world effectiveness. It also aims to bring implementation considerations to the foreground so that evidence can translate into measurable improvements in population health. Finally, the Topic will identify key gaps and propose future research directions that are clinically meaningful, equity-oriented, and feasible at scale. We welcome Mini Review, Opinion, Review, and Systematic Review article types.Authors may focus on, but are not limited to, the following sub-themes:• Primary prevention: vaccination (HPV/HBV), tobacco control, alcohol, obesity/metabolic health, physical activity, diet, chemoprevention• Environmental and occupational exposures and prevention policy• Screening effectiveness across populations, including age- and sex-specific considerations• Risk-stratified and personalized screening (genetic risk, family history, comorbidity, social determinants)• Early detection biomarkers (blood-based, stool, breath, urine), validation pathways, and clinical utility• Imaging innovations and AI: performance, generalizability, transparency, and workflow impact• Overdiagnosis, false positives, incidental findings, and patient-centered outcomes• Implementation science: uptake, adherence, informed decision-making, and de-implementation of low-value practices• Equity and disparities: rural access, socioeconomic gradients, race/ethnicity, disability, and global health contexts• Health economics: cost-effectiveness, resource allocation, and program design in real-world systems. Topic editors: David Chia, Neeti Swarup, David Wong Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80596/cancer-prevention-screening-and-early-detection