title: Long-term trends in the development of the epidemiology of breast  cancer in the Slovak and Czech Republic with reference to applied screening and international comparisons.
abstract: Breast cancer represents a major problem in oncology and epidemiology, especially because of the growing trends in its incidence, which are most pronounced in countries with historically low levels of incidence of this disease and because of the increasingly unfavorable mortality trends even in some countries where screening has been established. The purpose of this study is to analyse the incidence of breast cancer and resulting mortality in two neighbouring countries with national population-based cancer data in central Europe and to assess possible reasons for any differences discovered. The recorded increase in the incidence of breast cancer in the Slovak and Czech Republic is apparently the result of a westernizing lifestyle. In the Czech Republic the acceleration of the incidence of this disease recorded after 1991 was more pronounced than in the Slovak Republic, which may be influenced especially by the more pronounced increase in the number of mammograms but also by a higher prevalence of risk factors of the disease. After the year 1991 a stabilization of mortality was recorded in both countries. However, this stabilization is not satisfactory but is correlated with the unsatisfactory extent (in the case of the Slovak Republic still unorganized) of screening, with the low number (or unused) mammograms, with slow onset of anti-cancer therapy and with expenditures for health care below the European average. The existing situation with an unfavourable mortality trend in all age groups indicates the importance of implementing intervention measures.
authors: 2nd Department of Oncology, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic. martina.ondrusova@savba.sk
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Ondrusova
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Muzik
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Durdik
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Ondrus
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D018153:Czech Republic / Q000453:epidemiology; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008019:Life Style; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity / Q000639:trends; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012307:Risk Factors; D018154:Slovakia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012922:Social Change