Foreword: Cancer Prevention and Early Action

April 15–21, 2022 is the 28th “National Anti-Cancer Week” and the theme is “Cancer prevention and early action” (1). The China Statistical Yearbook 2021 (2) published by the National Bureau of Statistics indicated cancer was the first leading cause of death for urban residents in China, and the third leading cause of mortality for rural residents. The urban and rural cancer mortality rates in China were 161.4/100,000 and 161.9/100,000 in 2020.

Cancer prevention and early action are key to reducing the disease burden of cancer and represented by support from the Chinese government for four major projects. First, the Rural Cancer Early Diagnosis and Treatment Project was launched in 2005, covering 31 provincial-level administrative divisions (PLADs) and 252 project sites. The second was the Huai River Basin Cancer Early Diagnosis and Early Treatment Project launched in 2007, which was mainly aimed at the early diagnosis and early treatment of esophageal cancer and liver cancer. The third was Early Detection through Screening Project for female breast and cervical cancer in rural areas in 2009. The last project was the Urban Cancer Early Diagnosis and Early Treatment Project launched in 2012, which covered urban residents of more than 60 regions in 26 PLADs. In 2019, China also issued a series of policies and guidelines such as the “Healthy China Initiative: Implementation Plan for Cancer Prevention and Control (2019–2022)” and the “Healthy China Initiative (2019–2030)” to guide China’s cancer prevention and control.

China CDC takes advantage of advances in monitoring, multidisciplinary cooperation, local program implementation, and basic prevention, and it can maximize its four-level system (national, provincial, municipal, and county) to strengthen cancer research at the national level and vigorously promote regional practical experience to the whole country in the range (3).

The articles in this special issue range from the burden of disease due to cancer in China, cancer mortality and cause eliminated life expectancy in key areas of four provinces, the economic burden of malignant tumors in Yichang City, and colorectal cancer screening in China. We hope to contribute to the in-depth analysis of cancer situation in China from a multi-dimensional perspective, in order to disseminate cancer prevention knowledge, advance basic options for public policy formulation, and promote early interventions at home and abroad.