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International Cancer Screening Network (ICSN)

Research assistant puts samples into a centrifuge
Credit: CDC Global

Overview

The International Cancer Screening Network (ICSN), organized by the Center for Global Health (CGH), is an international community of cancer screening experts that promotes collaborative research and implementation of evidence-based cancer screening. 

Impact

 ICSN convenes experts to develop the evidence base for effective practices in cancer screening and advises settings on how to improve their own national cancer screening programs. It does this by

  • organizing biennial conferences and working groups for screening practitioners (researchers, evaluators, implementers, and screening program staff) to exchange data and experiences 
  • connecting 800+ participants from 69 countries with active screening programs for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers 
  • sharing evidence-based implementation efforts built on research, monitoring, and evaluation 
  • advising on study designs to evaluate the process and effectiveness of cancer screening programs 
  • providing education about cancer screening, from basics to advanced and emerging concepts 
  • coordinating scientific studies and publishing collaborative papers 
  • as of 2020, studying the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer screening and how programs have adapted around the world

How to Connect

ICSN is open to any participants who are interested in cancer screening. In-person meetings usually happen every two years and information about venue, registration costs, and program are disseminated within the network. There are no membership dues.  

Visit the ICSN website for more information about the network and preparations for ICSN 2023, June 21-23, in Turin, Italy. 

Collaborators

ICSN was founded in 1988 through the leadership of Professor Sam Shapiro at NCI, and CGH has helped coordinate the network since 2015. 

Current chair: Mireille Broeders, Ph.D., professor of personalized screening at Radboud University Medical Center, the Netherlands 

Chair-elect: Miriam Elfström, Ph.D., Karolinska Institute, Sweden 

The steering committee includes members from the American Cancer Society; Cancer Care Ontario, Canada; the Cancer Prevention Center, Italy; Erasmus University Medical Center, the Netherlands; Hospital del Mar, Spain; Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, US; Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Israel; University of Copenhagen, Denmark; University of Edinburgh, UK; University of Lausanne, Switzerland; and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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