Table 2.

The target populations, high-risk criteria, screening technology, and screening frequency for the cancers currently being screened in China

	Target ages, years	High-risk criteria	Screening test	Frequency
Lung cancer16	50–74	Meet at least one of the following criteria: ≥30 pack-years of smoking and <15 years since quitting; exposed to passive smoking at home or in the workplace for ≥20 years; a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; >1 year of regular occupational exposure to asbestos, radon, beryllium, chromium, cadmium, nickel, silica, coal smoke, or soot; first degree relative diagnosed with lung cancer	Low-dose CT	Every 2 years
Oesophageal cancer17	45–74, screening should be stopped for individuals with life expectancy less than 5 years	Meet at least one of the following criteria: permanent resident of area with high oesophageal cancer incidence (counties with age-standardised incidence rate >15 per 100 000); a diagnosis of oesophageal precancerous diseases or precancerous lesions; first degree relative diagnosed with oesophageal cancer; unhealthy lifestyles and dietary habits, such as smoking, drinking, and hot food and beverage thermal exposure	Endoscopy	Every 5 years for high-risk individuals
Gastric cancer18	45–74, screening should be stopped for individuals with life expectancy less than 5 years	Meet at least one of the following criteria: permanent resident of area with high gastric cancer incidence (counties with age-standardised incidence rate >20 per 100 000); Helicobacter pylori infection; a diagnosis of gastric precancerous conditions, such as chronic atrophic gastritis, gastric ulcer, gastric polyp, residual stomach after gastrectomy, hypertrophic gastritis, or pernicious anaemia; first degree relative diagnosed with gastric cancer; unhealthy lifestyles and dietary habits, such as smoking, drinking, and salted or pickled food consumption	Endoscopy	Every 1 to 3 years, as determined by the gastric cancer screening scoring system
Colorectal cancer14	50–74 for non-high-risk individuals, 40–74 for high-risk individuals	Meet at least one of the following criteria: first degree relative diagnosed with colorectal cancer; a diagnosis of intestinal adenomas; non-curative inflammatory bowel disease with duration of 8–10 years; positive faecal immunochemical test	Faecal immunochemical test followed by colonoscopy	Every 5–10 years for colonoscopy, annually for faecal immunochemical test
Liver cancer19	40–74, any age for patients with liver cirrhosis; screening should be stopped for individuals with life expectancy less than 5 years	Meet at least one of the following criteria: cirrhosis induced by any causes (no age restriction); hepatitis B or hepatitis C chronic infection; first degree relative diagnosed with liver cancer	Ultrasound and α-fetoprotein test	Annually
Breast cancer*15	45–64 for average risk, 40–64 for high risk	Meet at least one of the following criteria: first degree relative diagnosed with breast cancer or ovarian cancer; two or more second degree relatives diagnosed with breast cancer or ovarian cancer before the age of 50 years; oneself or one first degree relative carry pathogenic mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes; age of menarche ≤12 years; age of menopause ≥55 years; history of breast biopsy or breast benign disease surgery, or history of atypical hyperplasia of breast (lobule or duct) confirmed by pathology; hormone replacement therapy with oestrogen and progestin combination >0·5 year; mammographic density asymmetry or dense breast tissue after age of 45 years. Meet any two of the following criteria: no breastfeeding or breastfeeding duration <4 months; no livebirth (including never giving birth, miscarriage, or stillbirth) or age above 30 years at first livebirth; hormone replacement therapy with oestrogen >0·5 year; abortion (including spontaneous abortion and induced abortion) ≥2 times	Average risk and non-dense breast: mammogram or ultrasound (if dense breast on mammogram); high-risk or dense breast: mammogram and ultrasound	Annually for high-risk; every 1–2 years for average risk
Breast cancer†12	35–64	All women in the age group	Ultrasound with mammogram triage	Every 2–3 years
Cervical cancer12	35–64	All women in the age group	Cytology or HPV test	Every 3 years for cytology; every 5 years for HPV test
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma42, 43	30–69	Meet at least one of the following criteria: permanent resident of area with high nasopharyngeal carcinoma mortality (counties with age standardised mortality rate >3 per 100 000); positive or high-risk EBV antibody test; head and neck physical examination identifying a suspected nasopharyngeal carcinoma; first degree relative diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma	EBV serology test followed by nasopharyngoscopy	Every 5 years for negative EBV test; every 2 years for weakly positive EBV test; annually for strongly positive EBV test

HPV=human papillomavirus. EBV=Epstein-Barr virus.

^*Used in the Cancer Screening Programme in Urban Areas.

^†Used in the Cervical Cancer and Breast Cancer Screening Programme for Women.