CONFERENCE
At the heart of Latvia’s leadership is the University of Latvia (LU), which coordinates the entire EUCanScreen project and drives critical technical work. As coordinator of Work Package 1 (WP1) – Project Coordination, LU is responsible for managing project implementation across the consortium, ensuring streamlined communication and the deliverables. Additionally, LU leads Tasks 8.2 and 8.4 on gastric cancer screening implementation, as well as Task 11.7, which focusses on establishing a regional mammography training centre to enhance screening capacity.
Latvia’s national public health institution, the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (SPKC), also plays a crucial role. As an affiliated entity, SPKC supports the implementation of state-organised cancer screenings in compliance with European Commission quality standards. SPKC co-leads Work Package 11 on capacity building and is responsible for Task 11.3, which involves training healthcare professionals in colonoscopy and polypectomy. It is also a contributor to tasks aimed at improving outreach, training, and quality assurance across other screening modalities.
Latvia’s involvement doesn’t end there. Riga Stradins University (RSU) and the Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital (PSKUS) both bring valuable clinical, educational, and research capacities to the project. RSU is particularly active in the field of cervical cancer screening, with deep expertise in colposcopy training, while PSKUS supports activities in multiple work packages related to prostate, lung, colorectal, and breast cancer screening.
As Latvia takes the lead in this month’s EUCanScreen communications, the spotlight is on its commitment to sustainable, high-quality cancer screening and its drive to reduce health inequalities. Latvia’s example highlights the power of cross-sector collaboration among universities, hospitals, and public health institutions—to bring cutting-edge screening programmes closer to Europe’s citizens.
Over the past decade, Latvia has expanded free, state-funded screening for several cancers. Organised screening programmes exist for breast, cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancers, offering eligible residents routine checks at no cost. Every two years, we invite women aged 50–69 for mammography (breast screening) and women 25–70 for cervical screening (Pap test/HPV). Family doctors play a key role in colorectal cancer screening, providing at-home kits for faecal occult blood tests to patients 50–74. Since May 2021, primary care providers have also offered prostate cancer screening (PSA blood test) to men aged 50–75 and those aged 45+ with risk factors. These programmes are yielding gradual improvements in coverage: cervical screening participation rebounded to 55% in 2023 (up from 40% pre-pandemic), and breast screening to 36% (still below the EU average of ~56% but rising). Colorectal test uptake, while lower, climbed from under 7% in 2009 to about 26.5% by 2024. To boost these rates further, Latvia has introduced incentives for providers (e.g., pay-for-performance for GPs) and stepped up public education since 2010. SPKC regularly monitors and publishes screening indicators by region, ensuring data-driven quality control. Notably, a Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System was implemented in 2022 to improve mammography accuracy via double reading, and legislation now enables SPKC to maintain a comprehensive screening registry for evaluating program performance.
Latvian stakeholders emphasise that raising public awareness and building professional capacity are key to successful screenings. Under the EUCanScreen Work Package 11 (capacity-building), Latvia is developing training programmes – for example, RSU is creating standardised colposcopy training for cervical cancer prevention. At the same time, project partners are reviewing and translating patient information leaflets to ensure messages about early detection are clear and evidence-based. The tool MAPPinfo, which is used to assess the quality of health information, has been used to evaluate Latvian screening materials for accuracy and readability. On the community side, SPKC and healthcare providers continue to run outreach campaigns stressing that catching cancer early saves lives. They work with family doctors, gynaecologists, and NGOs to spread the word in clinics and through local municipalities. These collaborative efforts have helped increase screening acceptance – a testament to the importance of communication.
Latvia contributes to the common goal: ensuring all Europeans have access to high-quality cancer screening and the hope of early diagnosis. This collaborative momentum in May 2025 reinforces EUCanScreen’s broader mission to save lives through prevention and move closer to a future where cancer is caught and cured as early as possible.
