Cancer incidence and mortality in Poland in 2023

Abstract

Introduction. Cancers are a real global health problem. Europe accounts for 1/10 of the world’s population, but ¼ of all cancer cases occurs in this region. Poland is in the group of countries where cancer mortality is the highest. The aim of this article is to present a summary of the epidemiological indicators of malignant neoplasms in Poland in 2023. Material and methods. This report presents observed morbidity and mortality data for 2010–2021, and also estimated values two years ahead (2022–2023). Data aggregation was carried out according to sex, age, cancer site, or administrative division of Poland. Time trends were determined using joinpoint regression. The Polish National Cancer Registry is responsible for gathering cancer morbidity data in Poland; mortality data came from Statistics Poland. Results. The Polish National Cancer Registry reported about 171,558 new cases and 93,652 cancer deaths in 2021. The most common cancers in men were prostate, lung, and colon cancer. The most common cancers in women were breast, lung, and colorectal cancers. The prediction of morbidity and mortality for 2023 indicates a continuation of long-term trends. Conclusions. The increase in the number of cases (approximately 25,000) and the number of deaths (by approximately 6000) observed in 2021 compared to 2020 indicates the huge impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health indicators in Poland. However, the year 2021 shows the characteristics of the previous trend among cancer data.