Cancer is the leading cause of premature death globally, with cases expected to rise by 50% by the year 2040[1]. People receiving care in settings with limited resources disproportionately carry the burden of premature deaths due to cancer. While tests for early cancer screening and detection can improve cancer survival rates, these tools are often too complex or too expensive to be effectively used in hospitals and clinics in low-resource settings.
Accelerating researchers & engineers to develop technologies for early cancer detection
At CITEC, we know suitable and effective technologies can transform cancer care for millions. That is why we target screening and detection of oral, lip, esophageal, gastric, colorectal, anal, cervical, breast, skin, and lung cancers — those cancers that disproportionately impact low-resource settings.
The right technologies for detecting this group of cancers alone could change cancer outcomes worldwide. So, we support collaboration to accelerate the development of simple, point-of-care technologies to screen and detect cancers early.
As a foundational step towards developing these solutions, we created a guide to help researchers assess needs associated with point-of-care screening and detection across various medical care settings: Standard of Care: Comprehensive Guide to Cancer Screening.
In writing the guide, we drew on the expertise in our collaborative community of bioengineers, oncologists, investigators, and international global health partners and their commitment to accelerating accessible point-of-care technologies.
Introducing the Comprehensive Guide to Cancer Screening by CITEC
The CITEC Standard of Care: Comprehensive Guide to Cancer Screening is a comprehensive guide on assessing needs in cancer care. The guide includes information on:
- current standard of care for screening and early detection of various cancers
- basic statistics on the prevalence and mortality of certain types of cancers
- insights into screening and diagnostic procedures
The intended audience is biomedical engineering, cancer prevention, and cancer detection researchers, as well as students involved in needs-finding and technology development for early cancer detection in low-resource settings.
The guide includes descriptions and examples of cancer care approaches from high-resource and low-resource cancer care settings, offering a variety of perspectives on care requirements. The guide outlines ongoing clinical trials and technologies under development. Current guidelines and recommendations from medical societies, associations, groups, and the World Health Organization (WHO) were reviewed when compiling the information in this guide. CITEC partners share expertise on advancing technology and training local care providers and healthcare professionals when disseminating point-of-care technologies in resource-constrained settings.
About CITEC
CITEC stands as a testament to the power of collaboration, uniting a community of investigators with the shared mission of developing affordable and effective point-of-care technologies accessible to all. We are committed to identifying needs, accelerating the development of technologies, and evaluating and implementing these technologies.
We invite you to use the CITEC Standard of Care: Comprehensive Guide to Cancer Screening to guide your research.
[1] World Health Organization (WHO). Global Health Estimates 2020: Deaths by Cause, Age, Sex, by Country and by Region, 2000-2019. WHO; 2020. Accessed March 19, 2025. who.int/data/gho/data/themes/mortality-and-global-health-estimates/ghe-leading-causes-of-death