AUTHOR=Kiss Zoltán , Szabó Tamás G. , Polgár Csaba , Horváth Zsolt , Nagy Péter , Fábián Ibolya , Kovács Valéria , Surján György , Barcza Zsófia , Kenessey István , Wéber András , Wittmann István , Molnár Gergő Attila , Gyöngyösi Eszter , Benedek Angéla , Karamousouli Eugenia , Abonyi-Tóth Zsolt , Bertókné Tamás Renáta , Fürtős Diána Viktória , Bogos Krisztina , Moldvay Judit , Gálffy Gabriella , Tamási Lilla , Müller Veronika , Krasznai Zoárd Tibor , Ostoros Gyula , Pápai-Székely Zsolt , Maráz Anikó , Branyiczkiné Géczy Gabriella , Hilbert Lászlóné , Tamás Berki Láśzló , Rokszin György , Vokó Zoltán 

TITLE=Revising cancer incidence in a Central European country: a Hungarian nationwide study between 2011–2019 based on a health insurance fund database

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2024.1393132

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2024.1393132

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=BackgroundThe nationwide HUN-CANCER EPI study examined cancer incidence and mortality rates in Hungary from 2011 to 2019.MethodsUsing data from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and Hungarian Central Statistical Office (HCSO), our retrospective study analyzed newly diagnosed malignancies between Jan 1, 2011, and Dec 31, 2019. Age-standardized incidence and mortality rates were calculated for all and for different tumor types using both the 1976 and 2013 European Standard Populations (ESP).FindingsThe number of newly diagnosed cancer cases decreased from 60,554 to 56,675 between 2011–2019. Age-standardized incidence rates were much lower in 2018, than previously estimated (475.5 vs. 580.5/100,000 person-years [PYs] in males and 383.6 vs. 438.5/100,000 PYs in females; ESP 1976). All-site cancer incidence showed a mean annual decrease of 1.9% (95% CI: 2.4%-1.4%) in men and 1.0% (95% CI:1.42%-0.66%) in women, parallel to mortality trends (-1.6% in males and -0.6% in females; ESP 2013). In 2018, the highest age-standardized incidence rates were found for lung (88.3), colorectal (82.2), and prostate cancer (62.3) in men, and breast (104.6), lung (47.7), and colorectal cancer (45.8) in women. The most significant decreases in incidence rates were observed for stomach (4.7%), laryngeal (4.4%), and gallbladder cancers (3.5%), with parallel decreases in mortality rates (3.9%, 2.7% and 3.2%, respectively).InterpretationWe found a lower incidence of newly diagnosed cancer cases for Hungary compared to previous estimates, and decreasing trends in cancer incidence and mortality, in line with global findings and the declining prevalence of smoking.