Several research and training initiatives were organized by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in collaboration with national institutions in countries such as Angola, Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Republic of Congo, Guinea, India, Mali, Mauritania, Nepal, Niger, Peru, Tanzania and Thailand among others, to address feasible and effective means of early detection and prevention of cervical, breast and oral cancers. The impact of these activities, that involved over 600 000 participants and more than 1200 healthcare personnel trained on strengthening the local health services in terms of infrastructure, human resources and service delivery aspects in host countries and other regions, is addressed here. These studies, inbuilt in appropriate health services platforms, have resulted in the development and sustenance of several continuing point of care services of screening and treatment in most host countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, and have catalysed regional early detection programmes in India, China and Thailand. The IARC collaborative studies have evolved into major focal points of training and extending services in many countries. The large evidence base, resulting from ours and other studies is likely, in due course, to facilitate much wider scaling up of screening and treatment services through organised programmes.