Have Polish women started getting tested? Epidemiology of gynaecological cancers in Poland in 2015–2021

The study was aimed at assessing trends in the morbidity of gynecological cancers in Poland in the years 2015–2021. Such a time frame allows us to evaluate the cancer burden in a period of the standard operation of the healthcare system in Poland as well as to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer incidence. In our study, we analyzed the pre-processed, secondary epidemiological data obtained from the National Health Fund of Poland with regard to 272,550 women aged 20 or above diagnosed with breast cancer (n = 154,069), cervical cancer (n = 26,273), uterine cancer (n = 54,688) or ovarian cancer (n = 37,520) in Poland in 2015–2021. The epidemiological analysis was performed and divided into subregions, according to the patients’ domicile at the time of cancer diagnosis. The burden of gynecological cancers in Poland is spatially differentiated, and the time changes and the prevalence of breast, cervical, uterine, and ovarian cancers decreased in the 2015–2021 period. A significant decrease in the incidence of analyzed cancers in 2020 compared to 2019 was observed. Subsequently, a marked increase was noted in 2021, most likely due to the gradual reduction of epidemic restrictions. At the same time, the implementation of national screening programs for breast and cervical cancers decreased. This shows an urgent need to develop procedures that will ensure the achievement of long-term health goals, such as the prevention of chronic diseases, including cancers, in the face of potentially recurrent global health crises, such as infectious epidemics.