抄録
Background: The Polish breast cancer screening program was initiated as part of National Cancer Control Program in July 2005 by establishing a network of accredited regional centers and the central coordination point. The changes in reproduction behaviors and lifestyle in Poland have contributed to rapid increase of breast cancer incidence and mortality. The aim of this article is to describe the results of the program after 7 years from its implementation and to advocate for its continuance.
Methods: Data on incidence and mortality due to breast cancer among women aged 50-69 were extracted from the National Cancer Registry. Annual reports of the National Cancer Control Program and other data provided by the Ministry of Health in Poland were analyzed.
Results: Between January 1999 and December 2009 there were 142,307 new cases of breast cancer and 54,927 deaths because of it reported in Polish females. Poland is a country with relatively low and dynamically increasing incidence of breast cancer compared to Western European countries. The coverage of the nationwide screening program was around 40%.
Conclusion: The late introduction of the screening program with a high recall rate resulted in dynamic increase of incidence. This leads to stabilization of the breast cancer mortality since more cases could be detected at early stage and treated more effectively. The Polish National Cancer Control Program which includes the breast cancer screening met the interim measures recommended in the European Guidelines and should be continued in the future with higher coverage on the target population.
