With few exceptions, early stage cancers are less lethal and more treatable than late stage cancers. 

The best current examples of common cancers for which screening makes treatment more effective are cervical and breast cancers: even in low-income countries with limited therapeutic means, early detection is linked to improvements in survival. Screening methods should be tailored to the setting concerned. In breast cancer for example, in some countries this will be mammographic screening programmes whereas for others, breast awareness and clinical breast examination.  

The evidence to date suggests that the best results are obtained with population-based, high-coverage approaches and rigorous quality-control procedures. However, high-risk groups of individuals can benefit from targeted surveillance.

UICC therefore advocates for priority actions to achieve the following World Cancer Declaration targets: