Introduction. In 2020 in Poland, urological cancers (testis, prostate, kidney, urinary bladder) accounted for 32% of cancer incidence among men and 5% among women. There has been an improvement in the survival rate for urological cancers in recent years. The aim of this study was to determine whether survival rates for urological cancers differ according to the region in Poland.
Material and methods. Data on 5-year relative survival come from the Polish National Cancer Registry and cover the patients diagnosed during period 2000–2014. The analysis was performed for four locations of urological cancers: prostate (C61), testis (C62), kidney (C64) and bladder (C67). Differences in survival rates are presented on maps divided into 16 voivodships.
Results. In the years 2000–2014, an increase in the 5-year survival rate of patients with urological cancer was recorded in Poland. A similar trend has been observed in other European countries, with the average survival rate of patients with prostate, bladder, kidney, and testicular cancer being lower in Poland than in the EU. We characterise the geographical differences between survival and the sex of the patient. In prostate, bladder, and kidney cancers, the highest survival rate was recorded in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, regardless of gender and period.
Conclusions. In most of the analysed voivodeships, survival rates for urological cancers increased in subsequent periods. This is proof that health care in Poland is continuously improving. The level of public knowledge in Poland about urological cancers is still low. National-scale educational and preventive campaigns are needed to achieve a greater increase in 5-year survival rates in the coming years.