Onkológia 6/2021

Descriptive epidemiology of breast cancer in the Slovak Republic

Introduction: Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies in women and thus represents a serious socio-economic problem. Aims: The aim of the presented analysis was to identify the time development trends of selected epidemiological indicators of breast cancer in the Slovak Republic and to estimate the financial burden of the state in the management of this disease. Results: The incidence of the disease in Slovakia has a continuously increasing trend. Despite efforts in the field of secondary prevention, an unfavorable trend of stabilization (or insignificant increase) of mortality values is recorded. In year 2020, health insurance companies in the Slovak Republic paid approximately EUR 76,253,969.46 for the comprehensive management of breast cancer patients. Conclusion: Unfavorable mortality trends indicate the justification for the introduction and consistent implementation of intervention measures, especially in terms of organized population screening.

Keywords: breast cancer, incidence, mortality, prevalence, clinical stages, health care costs