The IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention provide comprehensive reviews and consensus evaluations of the evidence on the effectiveness of preventive interventions that may reduce cancer incidence or mortality. The process of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) for developing the Handbooks engages independent, interdisciplinary Working Groups of international scientific experts, who perform a transparent synthesis of different streams of evidence, which is then translated into an overall evaluation according to set criteria.

To date, the IARC Handbooks programme has produced 17 volumes, including evaluations of chemopreventive agents (e.g. non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; NSAIDs), behavioural interventions, cancer screening, and policies and taxation.

The evaluations of the IARC Handbooks are widely used by national and international health agencies to develop evidence-based interventions or policy recommendations for reducing cancer risk at the population level.

Contents