The formation of the Cancer Center was made possible by a funding decision from the Research and Development Council in the competitive round of research and development proposals by ministries in the fall of 2023.
READ MOREThe objective of the Screening Programs Steering Group is to extend healthy life years, improve quality of life, and reduce health inequalities through effective screening programs.
The goal is to monitor the implementation of the objectives of the Estonian Cancer Control Plan 2021-2030, considering the priority and feasibility of the activities and their impact on the epidemiological situation of cancer and cancer treatment.
The implementation of the Cancer Control Plan is coordinated through two national steering groups (the Cancer Control Steering Group and the Screening Programs Steering Group) and the Estonian Cancer Center, established in 2024. A mid-term evaluation of the Cancer Control Plan will take place in 2025.
Get the Details: The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tartu will house the Estonian Cancer Center.
The priorities for the coming years are reducing lifestyle choices leading to cancer, such as alcohol and tobacco consumption, and preventing cancer through HPV vaccination. Screening programs will enhance early cancer detection, and cancer pathways will improve access to treatment. Data usage, both primary and secondary, will be continuously improved.
Objectives 2024
- HPV vaccination has been made available for boys, and the age limit for free vaccination has been raised to 18 years.
- HPV home testing is available to the target group of the cervical cancer screening program throughout the entire calendar year.
- The target group for breast cancer screening has been expanded to include older age groups, specifically those aged 70 to 74.
- Preparations have been made to pilot a service for calculating polygenic risk scores for breast cancer in a cohort of 40-year-old women.
- A feasibility study for prostate cancer screening has been initiated.
- The preparation of a preliminary task for initiating gastric cancer screening has begun.
- A standardized care pathway for lung cancer patients has been established.
- A clinical audit of medical radiation in a pilot project for lung cancer screening using low-dose chest computed tomography is underway.
- A center integrating cancer prevention, diagnostics, treatment, and research—the Estonian Cancer Center—has been established.
- The first development projects, including international ones, have been initiated in the Estonian Cancer Center.
- The long-term goal of cancer control is to reduce age-standardized overall cancer incidence, as well as the incidence of cervical and colorectal cancers. In terms of living with cancer, the aim is to reach the level of the Nordic countries, with a reduction in gender disparities in cancer survival rates.
Last updated: 14.07.2025
