Lung cancer is becoming an epidemic in Poland. Experts: "Diagnostics takes so long that the patient is no longer a candidate for treatment"
Although the number of new cases of lung cancer in Poland has remained relatively stable for years – between 21 and 23 thousand per year – this does not mean good news. Lung cancer is still one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers and, worse still, the most lethal. What is particularly worrying is that the incidence is increasing among women – significantly enough that the disease has already overtaken breast cancer as the most common cancer among Polish women.
Prof. Maciej Krzakowski draws attention to the brutal reality: nearly half of cases are diagnosed only in the advanced stage, often too late to be treated effectively.
– Sometimes the diagnostic process takes so long that the patient is no longer a candidate for any treatment – he admits bitterly.
Smoking is still the main risk factor. Despite the growing number of cases among non-smokers, experts admit that this is marginal. The best prevention is still quitting smoking. Sounds simple? For many – still unattainable.
But the biggest drama remains the diagnostic path. Aleksandra Wilk from the To Się Leczy organization says it directly:
– Time is of the essence. And lung cancer patients simply don’t have that time.
Patients still struggle with basic barriers: delayed appointments, lack of access to tests, endless waiting for tomography reports, which have to be repeated after 28 days anyway. The result? By the time they see a specialist, it is already too late for innovative therapies.
Prof. Przykucki tries to breathe some hope.
– The percentage of patients who qualify for surgical treatment is increasing – he says. This is the result of better coordination and the creation of prototype competence centers – the so-called Lung Cancer Units .
In the provinces where such solutions are already in place, the detection of early forms of the disease and the percentage of resections – life-saving procedures – are increasing.
Dr. Andrzej Tysarowski, a molecular diagnostics specialist, points to the biggest barrier: the lack of integrated diagnostics. In large centers, everything can be done "under one roof." In smaller ones, the material circulates between units for weeks, and time is running out.
– A single referral for histopathology and genetic testing would be enough – he says. – Simple changes could shorten the path by weeks.
Fortunately, changes are coming. Since July, there has been a possibility of financing some genetic tests from blood (so-called liquid biopsy). This is a huge opportunity – especially for patients from whom it is impossible to collect material traditionally or there is too little of it. But experts are cooling their enthusiasm:
– This is just the first step. Funding for advanced molecular diagnostics on a large scale is still lacking.
Prof. Dariusz Kowalski presents the most painful paradox. There are already therapies that for some patients mean several dozen months of life without disease progression. The problem is that they are not reimbursed in Poland. An example? Treatment for patients with the BRAF V600E mutation – 2% of patients who are still outside the system.
– Since 2017, the therapy has been registered in Europe. In Poland – silence – says the professor.
– The patient does not know which center is authorized to perform the appropriate tests – adds Wilk. – He does not know where to go, where it will be faster, more effective. And sometimes these differences are a matter of life and death.
Updated: 26/06/2025 06:30
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