Cancer Screening and Primary Care

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 932

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, USA
Interests: cancer health disparities; infection-related cancers; social determinants of health (SDoHs)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cancer screening in primary care plays a pivotal role in the early detection and prevention of malignant neoplasms, significantly reducing cancer-related morbidity and mortality. As the first point of contact for most patients, primary care providers (PCPs) are uniquely positioned to implement population-based screening strategies, ensuring equitable access and adherence in diverse demographics. Population-based analysis provides critical information on effectiveness, reach, and disparities in cancer screening programs, enabling targeted interventions to optimize cancer outcomes.

Screening programs for common cancers, such as breast, cervical, colorectal, prostate, anal, and lung cancer, rely on robust integration into primary care to achieve the timely identification of at-risk individuals and to facilitate follow-up care and management. Cancer screening has been shown to reduce mortality from some of the most common cancers. However, despite significant efforts to promote evidence-based cancer screening, challenges persist, including disparities in screening rates based on socioeconomic status, insurance, race/ethnicity, gender identity, disability, education, age, sexual orientation, geographic location, and psychosocial, cultural, and other factors. Furthermore, to balance the benefits of early detection with potential negative aspects, such as overdiagnosis and false positives, evidence-based guidelines should be tailored to specific populations.

This Special Issue will explore the intersection of cancer screening and primary care, emphasizing the role of population-based analysis in identifying social determinants of health and current gaps, informing policy, and improving the effectiveness of cancer screening initiatives. This can improve public cancer health outcomes such as incidence, prevalence, mortality, morbidity, stage at diagnosis, survivorship, and the financial burden of cancer or related health conditions.

Dr. Marievelisse Soto-Salgado
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • screening amenable cancers
  • screening
  • primary care
  • disparities in cancer care
  • cancer outcomes

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

18 pages, 826 KiB  
Article
Iterative Situated Engagement Perspective: Meaning-Making Challenges Across Cancer Screening Phases
by Daniela Lemmo, Maria Luisa Martino, Roberto Bianco, Anna Rosa Donizzetti, Maria Francesca Freda and Daniela Caso
Cancers 2025, 17(12), 2007; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17122007 - 16 Jun 2025
Viewed by 453
Abstract
Background/Objectives:Breast and cervical cancer screening programs are essential for early detection and timely treatment, yet participation rates remain suboptimal. Within a patient-centered care approach, engagement is increasingly viewed as a dynamic and emotionally grounded process. The literature conceptualizes three phases of engagement [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives:Breast and cervical cancer screening programs are essential for early detection and timely treatment, yet participation rates remain suboptimal. Within a patient-centered care approach, engagement is increasingly viewed as a dynamic and emotionally grounded process. The literature conceptualizes three phases of engagement in healthcare decision-making: ‘recruit’, ‘retain’, and ‘sustain’. When these phases intersect with the structured pathway of cancer screening, they generate specific meaning-making challenges that shape how women relate to prevention and care. This study adopts the lens of Iterative Situated Engagement (ISE) to explore how women experience and negotiate these challenges, differentiating them across the three engagement phases. Methods: A theory-driven qualitative design was adopted. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 40 women aged 25–69 years participating in public breast and cervical cancer screening programs. Thematic analysis was conducted using the Framework Method. Results: In the ‘recruit’ phase, engagement was driven by Cancer Risk Monitoring, Self-care Motivation, Fear of Death Management, and Coincidence. The ‘retain’ phase emphasized Trust in Healthcare Providers, Accessibility of Services, Recurrent Invitations, and Informal Result Previews. About the ‘sustain’ phase, Continuity of Healthcare Providers, Driving Best Practices Dissemination, Flexible Organization of Healthcare Services, and Shorter Waiting Times for Results were highlighted as key factors in maintaining engagement over time. Conclusions: Women’s engagement in cancer screening emerges as a dynamic, multi-phase process shaped by psychological, emotional, and organizational levels. These findings contribute to the development of the ISE conceptual proposal, which frames participation as an iterative, situated, and meaning-making trajectory. Strengthening personalized health communication and improving the coordination of primary care services could enhance sustained participation in screening programs, supporting strategies to reduce health disparities and promote preventive practices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cancer Screening and Primary Care)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop