What is the main focus of the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control?

• A. Reducing healthcare costs associated with cancer
• B. Increasing access to cancer treatment
• C. Reducing cancer incidence and mortality through prevention strategies
• D. Developing new cancer drugs

Answer: (C)

Preventing cancer and lowering deaths through prevention strategies is the central aim. The Division of Cancer Prevention and Control focuses on reducing risk factors (like tobacco use, obesity, physical inactivity, and harmful exposures), promoting vaccines such as HPV and Hepatitis B, and supporting screening and early detection to catch cancers when they’re more treatable. They also track cancer trends and help implement evidence-based prevention programs at the community level. This emphasis on prevention and early detection directly targets lowering both how often cancer occurs and how many people die from it. In contrast, reducing healthcare costs, increasing access to treatment, or developing new cancer drugs describe activities more aligned with care delivery, health systems, or pharmaceutical research, rather than the division’s primary mission of preventing cancer and reducing mortality through prevention strategies.