Introduction. Breast cancers are the most common cancers in the developed countries. In Poland, they are responsible
for about one fourth of cancer cases (in 2010 over 15700 cases). It is estimated that within the next 15 years
the number of new cases will exceed 21000 and the risk of this cancer, although still lower, will be comparable to
observed in Europe (roughly 90/105). The increase of a risk of breast cancer is related to many factors, jointly described
as factors of affl uence. In the Polish population particular importance is given to the lengthening of the average life
expectancy and changes connected to fertility rates among women.

Materials and methods. The data come from publicly available sources or publications. Data concerning Poland
come from the National Cancer Registry and the Central Statistical Offi ce. The most frequently applied indicators
used were: incidence ratios, mortality and survival ratios.

Results. In Poland, population-based breast cancer screening was launched about 20 years later than in some European
countries. The classical eff ects of population-based screening (the decline of mortality) in the Polish population
are not visible yet due to low participation of women and an enormous increase in incidence in the group covered
by screening. In consequence to the introduction of screening, the stage at diagnosis has been modifi ed — the percentage of patients with the highest stage of cancer has decreased (by 7% in 2010), the number of cancers in situ
has increased (by 7% in 2010); locally advanced disease was diagnosed for half of the patients.

Conclusion. In Poland, despite visible improvements in the fi ght with breast cancer, the mortality level is still alarming
— the countries with 1.5–2 times higher incidence than in Poland have identical levels of mortality.