Secondary prevention and treatment of cervical cancer - update from Poland

Introduction. Cervical cancer is the 4th most common cancer in terms of incidence and mortality in women worldwide. The aim of the study was to investigate and analyze the effects of Poland’s publicly funded cervical cancer screening and treatment programs. Material and methods. The study analyzed the financial and epidemiological data provided by the Polish National Health Fund and the Polish National Cancer Registry on the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer in Poland in 2011–2017. Results. Our study identified a systematic reduction in the number of patients undergoing cervical cytology. Despite high levels of financial expenditure, no correlation was found between the total cost of benefits in PLN million (W = 0.911; p = 0.404) and mortality expressed by the standardized coefficient (W = 0.884; p = 0.243). Conclusions. Despite decreasing mortality rates in cases of cervical cancer in Poland, the organization and delivery of prevention and treatment programs should be considered insufficient.