Equity and effectiveness in cancer diagnosis and treatment

Strengthening the knowledge base

Data products – Cancer Registry Cancer statistics for 2023 and preliminary statistics for 2024 were published in April. The Cancer 2023 report was released in early June.

The Finnish Cancer Registry research and expert services development project (Tutka) contributed new content to the Cancer 2023 report, including data on the cancer situation by wellbeing services county. The project continued to incorporate text-mining algorithms into the statistical production of TNM data describing cancer staging.

Data products – screening Internal reporting was streamlined by introducing monthly reports on cervical and colorectal cancer screenings. In November 2025, preliminary statistics on participation rates and follow-up referrals were published for the first time for all screening programmes. The statistics also included socioeconomic variables.

The annual statistics were published in May and the reports in June. New features in the annual statistics included age-specific findings reported by the well-being services counties. In reporting on colorectal cancer screening, a pilot was launched to provide well-being services counties with more up-to-date information on process indicators.

International Research Collaboration

• SALiCCS: Finland participated alongside Denmark and Sweden in the Socioeconomic Consequences in Adult Life after Childhood Cancer (SALiCCS) project, which tracks the later stages of life for those who had cancer as children from a socioeconomic perspective. The project was completed for Finland in 2025.
• NOCCA: The Cancer Registry coordinates the Nordic Occupational Cancer Study (NOCCA), a joint Nordic project mapping cancer risks associated with occupational exposures. The project published a study on the link between socioeconomic status and the risk of cervical cancer, as well as the impact of occupation on the risk of sinonasal cancer.
• IARC: The CSF engages in active scientific and cancer prevention-related collaboration with the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). In 2025, the Research Director of the Finnish Cancer Registry served as Finland’s representative on the IARC Scientific Advisory Board.
• ANCR: The Nordic Cancer Registry Conference (ANCR) was held in Iceland. Experts from the Cancer Registry gave presentations on registration and cancer epidemiological studies. Meetings of the Nordic development networks for breast and colorectal cancer screening were also held in conjunction with the conference.

EU Projects

The Joint Action on Cancer and other NCD Prevention continued. Its aim is to address health-promoting factors common to cancer and noncommunicable diseases. The Cancer Registry is participating in three work packages:

• lifestyle data harmonisation
• risk estimation models
• occupational cancer risks

The Joint Action project, which relates to the implementation of cancer screening (EUCanScreen), also continued. The Cancer Registry is responsible for the work package focused on monitoring screening. The Cancer Registry also leads projects related to lung cancer screening for long-term smokers, screening for sexual minorities, invitation practices, and the organisation of screenings. In addition, the Cancer Registry is involved in projects related to screening of HPV-vaccinated individuals, screening-related communication, screening technology, and risk-based assessment.

The monitoring work package produced three data models for national cancer screening programs, a preliminary version of the R package, and a data analysis system utilising Docker container technology, along with a demo, for pan-European cancer screening data production and research. In addition, a survey was conducted to gather information on European screening legislation and data availability.

As part of a project examining the governance mechanisms and organisation of screening programs, a survey was completed that comprehensively covered the aforementioned topic across EU member states. In a project focusing on cancer screening for sexual minorities, a survey was conducted on the status of screening among population groups, the drafting of EU-wide recommendations was initiated, and an interview study was launched. In the Invitation Practices project, surveys were conducted on invitation practices in national screening programmes and on self-sampling in cervical cancer screening.

In the project piloting lung cancer screening, a research protocol was finalised in collaboration with Hungary, the pilot country. In addition, an article was published on integrating smoking cessation into lung cancer screening in the EU. The project also published a protocol for a systematic review examining the effectiveness of recruitment practices implemented in lung cancer screening. In Finland, budget and contract negotiations were held with the participating well-being services counties and HUS Helsinki University Hospital. Additionally, recruitment materials and a registration channel were developed, along with a platform for storing research data. Research nurses and experts from the Finnish Cancer Registry were trained to use the program in question.

In the project examining the screening of HPV-vaccinated individuals, screening scenarios were defined, which will be modelled in the future.

A new project, CancerWatch, launched in 2025 to provide up-to-date cancer burden data to the European Commission’s ECIS system maintained by the Joint Research Centre (JRC).

Screening services and their implementation

Close cooperation continued with the well-being services counties and their contracted laboratories and screening units. Information was provided to the well-being services counties on topics such as regional and preliminary-stage statistics, and suggestions were requested on how statistics and reporting could be further developed.

Several meetings were held with screening laboratories and units, covering topics such as data submissions and reporting. These included:

• Six remote sessions for colorectal screening nurses (~50 participants each)
• Online training for screening professionals (20 nurses, 10 specialists)
• Registration of 14 new pathologists to a training platform

Screening research

Key outputs in 2025 included:

• A doctoral study on breast cancer screening cost-effectiveness, leading to a recommendation to expand screening ages from 50–68 to 46–74
• Research on HPV-related cervical cancer risks and screening
• Studies comparing HPV and Pap screening in Finland
• An article on post-negative colonoscopy cancer diagnoses

Student theses produced research on:

• Cervical cancer screening in young women
• Cancer incidence and mortality among immigrant populations

At the end of the year, new research projects were launched on:

• HPV genotyping in screening
• Integrating artificial intelligence into breast cancer screening