Abstract: Early screening is important to promote early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer so as to reduce the economy burden caused by the disease. Nurses have been increasingly playing a professional role in cancer prevention and early screening. This article reviews the roles and functions of nurses as evaluators, educators, counselors and so on in cancer prevention, detection and early diagnosis, to provide nurses with reference for their professional development, clinical practice and researches in the field of cancer prevention and treatment.

Key words: cancer; prevention; screening; nurses' role; function; review