This manuscript is a comprehensive review of the long-lasting tradition and the state-of-the-art in the prevention and early detection of cancer in Croatia. Compared with other European countries, Croatia holds a high and unfavourable position in cancer morbidity and mortality. Global experience in implementation of national programmes for the early detection of cancer clearly shows that such approach is the most successful and in the long-term the least expensive method for fighting against cancer. In Croatia, numerous separate actions in cancer care have been taken, but never systematically, nor included in a health care policy. The National Programme for the Prevention and Early Detection of Cancer of the common localizations for which effective screening tests are available (breast, uterine cervix, colon and prostate) has recently been launched. Local long-standing experience of the Osijek-Baranja County in implementation of programmes of cancer care contributed significantly to these initiatives. In this review, draft National Programme and the early results of its implementation were presented. In addition, preparations for the research project "Model of early cancer detection integrated in a practice of family physician", recently set up by the Department of Family Medicine of the School of Medicine, University of Osijek, were described. In this project, the programme of the early detection of cancer in which family physicians take responsibility for the programme implementation is suggested. Possible advantages of this model, compared with the model proposed by the National Programme, centrally directed and mostly supplied by the public services, are pointed out.