JUNE 14 – WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY
EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORT
In Paris on June 15, 1667, professor Jean-Baptiste Denis was the first to give blood transfusion to a human. The first blood transfusion in Slovakia was done by Ján Kňazovický, M.D., 100 years ago, in 1923. The Slovak Red Cross gives Prof. Kňazovický Medal to all voluntary blood donors who have given blood 100 times (men) or 80 times (women).
The National Transfusion Service of the SR is an organization co-financed by the state budget which provides complex service regarding production of blood preparations from sampling and processing to distribution. There are 3 processing centers in Slovakia which make blood preparations from the donated blood and perform blood testing. They are located in Bratislava, Banská Bystrica and Košice. 12 collection centers take blood and blood components from donors.
A suitable donor can donate blood only once in three or four months and thrombocytes, i.e., platelets, as many as 12 times a year. Cancer patients lack thrombocytes either due to their oncological disease or the treatment which suppresses their creation.
More informationEUROPEAN WEEK AGAINST CANCER
EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORT
Every year, this campaign unites Europe and underlines the importance of fight against this lifestyle-related disease with a rising tendency not only internationally but also in Slovakia. The European Week Against Cancer starts on 25 May each year and focuses on primary prevention, ending on 31 May by World No Tobacco Day.
- MAY 25 - PRIMARY PREVENTION
- MAY 26 - EARLY DETECTION
- MAY 27 - ACCESS TO TREATMENT
- MAY 28 - DIGITAL HEALTH & CARE
- MAY 29 - RESEARCH
- MAY 30 - PATIENTS & SURVIVORS
- MAY 31 – WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY
20. MÁJ - MEDZINÁRODNÝ DEŇ KLINICKÝCH SKÚŠANÍ
EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORT
Good clinical practice defines clinical trials as every research on a human being intended to determine or confirm clinical effects, pharmacological effects or other pharmacodynamic effects, to confirm any adverse effect, and to determine the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of one or several trial medications intended for human use in order to ascertain their harmless nature and effectiveness; clinical trials also evaluate bioavailability and bioequivalence of the trial medication.
Based on the National Clinical Trials Database, there are over 788 ongoing clinical trials in Slovakia at the moment. Their various indications include oncological diseases, such as lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, leukemia, lymphomas, cachexia in cancer patients.
Each clinical trial must be approved in advance by a regulator and an ethical committee.
More informationMAY – MELANOMA AWARENESS MONTH
EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORT
Europe is a continent with the highest number of annually diagnosed cases of melanoma. Each year, approximately 150,000 cases of melanoma are diagnosed in Europe. This is expected to rise approximately 170,000 million cases annually by 2050. Slovakia ranks 24th according to the number of melanomas diagnosed. Almost 1000 cases of melanoma are diagnosed in Slovakia every year. In Europe, over 26,000 people die of this malignant skin cancer every year and it is expected that this number will rise to over 34,000 deaths per year by 2050. In Slovakia every year, approximately 200 deaths.
The most important risk factor of melanoma is ultraviolet (UV) radiation which is also present in sunlight. That is why an effective method of melanoma prevention is protection against excessive exposure to sunlight and avoiding solariums.
More information7 APRIL, WORLD HEALTH DAY
EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORT
Prevention is the basic pillar of health protection. Oncological diseases are often connected to severe short-term or long-term morbidity which interferes in the lives of patients, their immediate entourage but also the entire society. That is why it is crucial to pay special attention to prevention wherever possible. 30 to 50% of cancer cases can be prevented by eliminating risk factors and implementing preventive measures within primary prevention. Secondary prevention of oncological diseases in Slovakia focuses on the implementation of several cancer screening programs. Cancer screening is able to detect early-stage diseases in asymptomatic population, which are completely curable in the majority of cases. Early diagnostics provides a great chance of more efficient treatment. The overall improvement of population health is up to each one of us.
More informationMARCH – EUROPEAN COLORECTAL CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORT
Colorectal cancer (large intestine and colon cancer) is the most common oncological disease in Slovakia. 4,521 cases of malignant colorectal tumors were diagnosed in Slovakia in 2021, of which 2,634 in men and 1,887 in women. Over 95% of cases were diagnosed in people over 45.
In Slovakia, colorectal cancer population screening takes place in people aged 50 – 75. The screening test is a fecal occult blood test (so-called FOBT) which can detect early stages of colorectal cancer. FOBT is part of preventive check-ups at the GP’s which should be undergone by all insured persons every 2 years. Another option is to undergo primary screening colonoscopy, i.e., colonoscopy without previous fecal occult blood test.
More informationFEBRUARY 29 – INTERNATIONAL RARE DISEASES DAY
EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORT
More than 300 million people in the world live with a rare disease. There are an estimated 300,000 of them in Slovakia alone. Rare diseases also include rare malignant tumors, that is, those with an incidence of less than 6 newly diagnosed cases per 100,000 inhabitants per year. They do not represent a significant part of all oncological diseases, but together they represent 25 to 30% and their share in deaths from cancer is 25%. Their scientific research, clinical trials and approvals of new drugs for rare tumors are not enough. For this reason, the prognosis of patients diagnosed with a rare tumor is worse than that of patients with a common type of cancer.
More informationFEBRUARY 15 – INTERNATIONAL CHILDHOOD CANCER DAY
EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORT
The most common oncological diseases in children are leukemias, malignant brain tumors and lymphomas. Approximately 180 cases of oncological diseases are diagnosed to children aged 0 – 18 years in Slovakia annually. Every year, around 30 childhood deaths due to oncological diseases are recorded. In developed countries with good accessibility to healthcare, more than 80% of cases of pediatric cancer can be cured.
More informationFEBRUARY 4 – WORLD CANCER DAY
ONCOLOGICAL DISEASES EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORT
Approximately 40,000 malignant tumors are diagnosed in Slovakia annually. The most common types of cancer in men are: prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer and in women: breast cancer, colorectal cancer and uterine cancer. The most common oncological diseases in children are leukemias, malignant brain tumors and lymphomas. 30 to 50% of oncological diseases are preventable.
More informationJANUARY – CERVICAL CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORT
Cervical cancer is the fifth most common oncological disease with around 500 women diagnosed in Slovakia annually. Over 40% of cases are diagnosed in women under 50. Primary prevention (vaccination against HPV) and screening (cytology exam within gynecological check-up) are effective tools to combat this disease. Regular screening can prevent as many as 9 cases out of 10.
More information-
2023
MOVEMBER – PROSTATE CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
A portmanteau from the words MOustache and noVEMBER, this unique global campaign points out the importance of prevention of prostate cancer since 2003.
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignant oncological disease in men in Slovakia. Its incidence, i.e., the number of cases of this disease, increases after 50 years of age when over 99% of cases are diagnosed. Each year, around 2,800 cases are diagnosed in Slovakia and there are over 700 related deaths. Symptoms which often reveal the disease are related to a tumor putting pressure on the urethra. This can manifest for example by frequent urinating, trouble urinating or urinary urgency.
In the early stages, there are often no symptoms of prostate cancer. That is why it is so crucial to see your urologist. Every man over 50 without genetic risks is entitled to a preventive urology check-up once in 3 years and if there is a case of prostate cancer in their first-degree relative, they are entitled to it from the age of 40.
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September 19 – World Marrow Donor Day
The first successful bone marrow transplantation took place in Seattle in 1968. The first bone marrow transplantation in an adult patient in Slovakia took place in the 1980’s and in an 8-year-old child in 1995 (sibling transplant).
The National Bone Marrow Donor Registry was founded at the Hematology and Transfusiology Clinic in Bratislava in 1995. The objective of the Registry is to find a suitable donor for bone marrow transplantation for patients with leukemia, malignant lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndrome, multiple myeloma and other severe hemopoiesis disorders.
At the moment, over 200 patients undergo bone marrow transplantation Slovakia annually.
More information
JUNE 14 – WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY
In Paris on June 15, 1667, professor Jean-Baptiste Denis was the first to give blood transfusion to a human. The first blood transfusion in Slovakia was done by Ján Kňazovický, M.D., 100 years ago, in 1923. The Slovak Red Cross gives Prof. Kňazovický Medal to all voluntary blood donors who have given blood 100 times (men) or 80 times (women).
The National Transfusion Service of the SR is an organization co-financed by the state budget which provides complex service regarding production of blood preparations from sampling and processing to distribution. There are 3 processing centers in Slovakia which make blood preparations from the donated blood and perform blood testing. They are located in Bratislava, Banská Bystrica and Košice. 12 collection centers take blood and blood components from donors.
A suitable donor can donate blood only once in three or four months and thrombocytes, i.e., platelets, as many as 12 times a year. Cancer patients lack thrombocytes either due to their oncological disease or the treatment which suppresses their creation.
More information
EUROPEAN WEEK AGAINST CANCER
Every year, this campaign unites Europe and underlines the importance of fight against this lifestyle-related disease with a rising tendency not only internationally but also in Slovakia.
The European Week Against Cancer starts on 25 May each year and focuses on primary prevention, ending on 31 May by World No Tobacco Day.
More information
May 20 – International Clinical Trials Day
Clinical trials (CTs) detect diseases, test the safety and efficiency of a trial medication or a treatment procedure. They often provide cancer patients with the only access to new innovative treatment and give them a chance for an increased treatment effectiveness. Unfortunately, Europeans have to wage a daily battle with restricted access to new medications and inability to participate in groundbreaking clinical trials because new treatment procedures research and development keep moving to more ambitious bioscience sectors in USA and Asia.
Around 40 % of CTs are unsuccessful due to insufficient number of recruited patients and over 50 % of patients cannot get to CTs due to their unavailability in the time and space where they are. 36 clinical trials are open for recruitment within the NOI Clinical Trials Register.
Let’s remind ourselves of the key points from cancer clinical trials workshop which took place at the end of April in the premises of MoH SR and NOI, summed up in a press release.
Press release More information
MAY – MELANOMA AWARENESS MONTH
EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORTEurope is a continent with the highest number of annually diagnosed cases of melanoma skin cancer. Each year, over 150,000 cases of melanoma are diagnosed in Europe. This is expected to rise to over 170,000 million cases annually by 2040. Slovakia ranks 25th according to the number of melanomas diagnosed annually, which is not something to be proud of. More than 900 cases of malignant melanoma skin cancer are diagnosed in Slovakia every year. In Europe, over 26,000 people die of melanoma skin cancer every year and it is expected that this number will rise to over 33,000 deaths per year by 2040. Slovakia ranks 20th according to the annual number of deaths of melanoma skin cancer. Every year, approximately 200 deaths of malignant melanoma are registered.
The most important risk factor of melanoma is ultraviolet (UV) radiation which is also present in sunlight. That is why an effective method of melanoma prevention is protection against excessive exposure to sunlight and avoiding solariums.
More information
7 APRIL, WORLD HEALTH DAY
EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORTPrevention is the basic pillar of health protection. Oncological diseases are often connected to severe short-term or long-term morbidity which interferes in the lives of patients, their immediate entourage but also the entire society. That is why it is crucial to pay special attention to prevention wherever possible. 30 to 50% of cancer cases can be prevented by eliminating risk factors and implementing preventive measures within primary prevention. Secondary prevention of oncological diseases in Slovakia focuses on the implementation of several cancer screening programs. Cancer screening is able to detect early-stage diseases in asymptomatic population, which are completely curable in the majority of cases. Early diagnostics provides a great chance of more efficient treatment. The overall improvement of our population health depends on each and every one of us.
More information
MARCH – EUROPEAN COLORECTAL CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORTColorectal cancer is the most common oncological disease in Slovakia. In 2021, 4,521 cases of malignant colorectal tumor were diagnosed, specifically in 2,634 men and 1,887 women. More than 95% of the cases were diagnosed to people over 45 years of age. Besides primary prevention (healthy lifestyle), secondary prevention in the form of regular routine check-ups at one’s GP’s and screening exams, i.e., fecal occult blood test and colonoscopy, is also very important.
More information
FEBRUARY 15 – INTERNATIONAL CHILDHOOD CANCER DAY
EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORTThe most common oncological diseases in children are leukemias, malignant brain tumors and lymphomas. Approximately 180 cases of oncological diseases are diagnosed to children aged 0 – 18 years in Slovakia annually. Every year, around 30 childhood deaths due to oncological diseases are recorded. In developed countries with good accessibility to healthcare, more than 80% of cases of pediatric cancer can be cured.
More information
FEBRUARY 4 – WORLD CANCER DAY
ONCOLOGICAL DISEASES EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORTMore than 40,000 malignant tumors are diagnosed in Slovakia annually. The most common types of cancer in men are: colorectal cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer, and in women: breast cancer, colorectal cancer and uterine cancer. The most common oncological diseases in children are leukemias, malignant brain tumors and lymphomas. 30 to 50% of oncological diseases are preventable.
More information
JANUARY – CERVICAL CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
EPIDEMIOLOGY REPORTCervical cancer is the fifth most common oncological disease and is diagnosed approximately to 600 women in Slovakia annually. This diagnosis contributes to around 200 deaths. More than 40% of the cases are diagnosed to women under 50 years of age. Primary prevention (HPV vaccination) and screening (cytology smear within gynecological routine check-up) are effective weapons in the fight against cervical cancer.
More information