Building a Network of Early Detection

Cancer remains one of Romania’s most significant public health challenges. Around 300,000 people are currently living with a cancer diagnosis, while the risk of dying from cancer before the age of 75 is approximately 14%. In response, Romania has made the development of organized, population-based, quality-assured cancer screening programmes a national priority, aiming to ensure equitable access for all citizens.

Here is where that work stands today, programme by programme, followed by a look at the wider European collaboration that has helped shape it.

From Opportunistic Testing to National Programmes

Until 2012, Romania had no organized national cancer screening programme. That year, building on a successful regional pilot in the country’s North-West, the Ministry of Health introduced the first nationally funded early detection initiative through opportunistic cervical cancer screening with Pap smear testing.

A major milestone followed in 2016 with the first draft of Romania’s National Cancer Control Plan, developed through the country’s participation in the European Joint Actions EPAAC and CanCon. Since then, Romania has steadily expanded from a single screening initiative into a growing network of organized programmes supported by European collaboration, quality assurance systems, and national monitoring frameworks coordinated by the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) together with universities, oncology institutes, and professional societies.

CLARA: Transforming Cervical Cancer Screening

Romania has long recorded the highest cervical cancer mortality rate in the European Union, largely due to decades of opportunistic rather than organized screening.

The CLARA programme, funded through the European Social Fund Plus and led by Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy with INSP as a core partner, is establishing Romania’s first fully organized population-based cervical cancer screening programme.

The programme introduces HPV testing as the primary screening method, complemented by self-sampling options to reach women facing barriers to healthcare access. It also includes standardized follow-up pathways, comprehensive quality assurance, patient communication materials, regional prevention centres, mobile screening units, a unified electronic patient registry, and training for approximately 700 healthcare professionals. More than 200,000 vulnerable women are expected to benefit from the programme.

ROCCAS: Expanding Colorectal Cancer Screening

Romania’s colorectal cancer screening programme, ROCCAS, began as regional pilots between 2019 and 2020 across four development regions.

Adults aged 50–74 were invited to complete a fecal immunochemical test (FIT), followed by colonoscopy for positive cases. Acceptance rates ranged from 89% to 99%, demonstrating strong public participation.

Following the successful pilots, ROCCAS is now progressing towards nationwide implementation, with INSP coordinating monitoring systems, reporting mechanisms, and quality assurance procedures.

DARIA: Romania’s First Organized Breast Cancer Screening Programme

Until recently, access to breast cancer screening in Romania depended largely on opportunistic mammography, often paid for by patients themselves.

The DARIA programme, led by the Prof. Dr. Ion Chiricuță Oncology Institute in Cluj-Napoca, is changing this landscape by establishing Romania’s first organized national breast cancer screening programme.

Through 2029, DARIA will provide free mammography to more than 119,000 women aged 50–69, focusing particularly on underserved populations, including uninsured, unemployed, and marginalized communities. The programme will also establish regional prevention centres, mobile screening units, an electronic patient registry, and train approximately 600 healthcare professionals. Screening is expected to begin in August 2026.

Launching Lung Cancer Screening

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death among Romanian men.

Following the European Council’s 2022 recommendation on low-dose CT (LDCT) screening for high-risk smokers, Romania has launched a national pilot coordinated by the Marius Nasta National Institute of Pneumology, with INSP as a core partner.

The pilot is developing screening methodologies, public awareness materials, and monitoring indicators that will support the future implementation of an organized national lung cancer screening programme.

European Collaboration Driving Progress

Romania’s progress has been strengthened through extensive collaboration with European initiatives that provide shared expertise, methodologies, quality standards, and practical experience.

Among these initiatives, EUCanScreen plays a central role by supporting Romania in developing sustainable governance structures, quality assurance systems, and organized screening programmes for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers, while helping prepare future programmes for lung, prostate, and gastric cancers.

Romania also participates in several complementary European projects:

• CBIG-SCREEN, focusing on increasing cervical screening participation among underserved populations through innovative approaches such as self-sampling.
• SOLACE, supporting equitable implementation of lung cancer screening using low-dose CT.
• PRAISE-U, whose risk-based prostate cancer screening research provides valuable evidence that Romania is following closely while preparing for future implementation.

Alongside these projects, Romania is adapting European quality assurance guidelines, strengthening health information systems, and building the professional capacity required to sustain organized screening programmes.

Building Capacity Through Academic and Professional Leadership

Romanian universities and professional societies play a crucial role in translating scientific evidence into national clinical practice.

Institutions including Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy and the Universities of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, and Iași work alongside professional organizations such as the Romanian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Romanian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the Society of Family Doctors, and the College of Physicians of Romania to develop clinical guidelines, training curricula, and quality standards.

These collaborations ensure that screening programmes are not only designed according to international recommendations but are also effectively implemented by well-trained healthcare professionals across the country.

A Coordinated National Effort

Together, Romania’s screening programmes form the foundation of the National Cancer Control Plan (2023–2030) and contribute to the objectives of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.

Supported by funding from the European Social Fund Plus, the European Regional Development Fund, and EU4Health, each programme is progressing at its own pace—from well-established cervical screening to emerging lung cancer pilots—but all share the same ambition: detecting cancer earlier, improving survival, and ensuring that high-quality screening becomes accessible to every eligible citizen across Romania.