Acting Early on Non-Communicable Diseases 2026

2.2 Secondary prevention: Screening and early detection Cancer screening programmes show substantial variation that cannot be explained by resource availability alone. Cervical screening participation ranged from 15.7% in Poland to 70% in Spain – a fourfold difference between countries with comparable wealth.32 Within Italy, colorectal screening varies 14-fold between regions.33 Lung cancer screening remains inconsistent despite national endorsements. In Japan, 56.6% of lung cancers are diagnosed at a late stage despite 45% screening participation,34 revealing gaps between access and effective detection. In Ontario, Canada, screening rates are notably lower among low-income communities, newcomers and people experiencing housing instability.35Current landscape Cancer screening (percentage of those in specified age range), 2019 and 202136FIGURE 2 Source: Adapted from: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and European Commission. (2024). Health at a glance: Europe 2024: State of health in the EU cycle. OECD Publishing, Paris 49.4 49.9 60.7 81.5 59.7 65.7 44.6 37.2 France Germany Italy Spain Canada Greece Japan Poland 73.4 77.9 38.5 70.0 59.1 72.9 43.7 15.7 30.4 43.8 40.5 21.8 59.2 27.6 44.2 Breast cancer Cervical cancer Colorectal cancer2019 2022 Acting Early on Non-Communicable Diseases: A Framework for Health System Transformation 10