Research projects

The research projects of the Screening Group (SCR) are designed to provide evidence about the accuracy, reproducibility, efficacy, benefits, harmful effects, and cost-effectiveness of various screening interventions for cervical, oral, breast, colorectal, and other cancers in reducing deaths and improving patients’ quality of life in various settings, to inform and improve the rational use of health-care resources.

In pursuit of this important goal, the Group implements randomized controlled trials and cross-sectional studies worldwide, in collaboration with national institutions and local investigators, to evaluate alternative, inexpensive, and feasible screening strategies for cervical, oral, and breast cancers. We are also evaluating colorectal cancer screening in Thailand and Morocco, where the services are delivered through routine health care. One of the Group’s major research initiatives is the evaluation of less than three doses of the HPV vaccine in India, the results of which have already informed public health policies. SCR scientists are also evaluating a novel comprehensive approach to the early detection of hypertension, diabetes, and common cancers by trained community health workers at the grassroots level in a rural district of India. The Group is also working to develop a simple, inexpensive, and feasible technology for treating cervical premalignant lesions, and trialling the new device in a large randomized controlled study in Zambia. An SCR initiative resulted in the 2017 publication of “Cancer screening in the European Union (2017)”, a report on the status of the implementation of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening in the 28 EU member countries. Our research projects are supported by the United States National Institutes of Health, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the European Commission, the Indo-American Cancer Association, the Lalla Salma Foundation for Cancer Prevention and Treatment, and various national institutions.