(CanScreen-ECIS) Strengthening cancer screening data collection to update European Cancer Information System and improve quality and coverage of cancer screening programmes in Europ

Project summary

CanScreen-ECIS aims to develop & pilot a new screening data management system to be integrated to European Cancer Information System (ECIS). It will be led by collaborators involved in the 2nd European Screening Report (EUSR) & EU-TOPIA projects. Performance  indicators defined and used by EUSR & EU-TOPIA will be refined & new indicators will be proposed to: 1)enable comparison between the variable organizational settings of screening programmes; 2)enable collection of data on testing outside the programmes; 3)allow the monitoring system to identify & quantify the information on inequalities; 4) cover new screening approaches & potential new cancer sites for the future. Data collection tools for the screening programmes for breast, cervix & colorectal cancers will be designed aligned with the new indicators. A data warehouse will be created for screening data-providers to get access to data collection tools & submit data. A web-application in the portal will automatically analyse data & display validated data as interactive graphs, tables etc. Once the system is ready, all screening programme coordinators/experts participating in 2nd EUSR or EU-TOPIA will be invited to a workshop. We will also invite coordinators from selected European Economic Area and east European countries. New data management system will be presented to the participants and improvement will be done based on their feedbacks. At the workshop we will invite countries/regions with ready datasets on breast, cervical & colorectal cancer screening (at least 1 site) to participate in a pilot. Data-providers participating in the pilot will be given access to the system after an orientation programme. Submitted data will be validated by a Scientific Committee before being published through the web application. The pilot will be evaluated using predefined indicators. A SWOT analysis will also be done. The data management system will be integrated to ECIS after making changes recommended by SWOT analysis.

CanScreen-ECIS will lead to the installation of a pilot-tested web application to display cancer screening indicators from different European programmes through ECIS in the short term. In medium term this will support the preparation of 3rd EU Cancer screening report and in the long run the project will find a permanent solution to continued data collection, data submission and analysis with an ultimate goal of quality improvement of cancer screening programmes in Europe. It is expected that the project will benefit the screen eligible populations in Europe by increasingly creating access for them to quality assured population-based cancer screening programmes for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers