National Oncology Strategy: where we are and where we are going

Waldemar Kraska reminded that the National Oncological Strategy is a program for which the government has provided adequate funding - over the 2020-2030 decade it will be over PLN 5 billion. The deputy minister emphasized that although the implementation of the NSO assumptions last year was difficult due to the COVID-19 epidemic, thanks to the involvement and mobilization of entities that implement the assumptions of the NSO, it was possible to implement further provisions of the strategy.

And so, in May, the ordinance of the Minister of Health on the final medical examination and final dental medical examination entered into force, increasing the pool of questions in the field of oncology. - We have also started work on updating the standards of education in the fields of medicine and dentistry, guaranteeing the acquisition of skills related to oncological prevention and early detection of malignant neoplasms as well as care for people who are undergoing or after oncological treatment - said Waldemar Kraska. Work was started on changing the specialization programs in the fields of oncology, family medicine and occupational medicine in order to adapt the knowledge and skills of doctors to the current world guidelines in diagnosis, prevention and treatment. The ministry also promotes the selection of oncology specializations among young doctors.

- A vaccine against HPV was introduced for reimbursement and a draft of legislative solutions was prepared to start vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV) - noted Waldemar Kraska. The vaccine has been reimbursed since November, and - as Kraska assured - “works are underway to include it in the vaccination calendar as a free vaccine. I think we can do it this year and we will introduce it. " However, the deputies reminded that the date of introducing free vaccination had already been set many times, and until this is done, it is difficult to count on the visible effects of vaccination.

An important element of the NSO is secondary prevention. Within its framework, the "Program of care for families with high, hereditary risk of developing malignant neoplasms" was introduced. - We have allocated over PLN 28 million for this purpose. We took care of 27 thousand. patients - said the deputy minister of health. In 2021, 96,000 jobs were also performed. colonoscopy as part of the colorectal cancer screening program, for the amount of PLN 59 million. The FIT test for fecal occult blood was also piloted, which included over 2,000 patients. people, and in the National Program of Early Lung Cancer Detection, over 2,000 were performed using low-dose computed tomography. research. The ministry is also planning changes to the breast cancer prevention program. The point is that research carried out in different places by various entities should be standardized. - The examination must be performed correctly, because further decisions regarding the procedure often depend on it. We try to focus on the quality of these studies - explained Kraska, also announcing the change in the valuation of the research.

A big change, from the point of view of patients already suffering from cancer, was the extension of therapeutic options by covering innovative drug therapies with reimbursement. According to the deputy head of the Ministry of Health, competitions for non-commercial clinical trials in the field of oncology were also launched.

- Our goal is that every patient, regardless of where they live, has the same access to cancer therapy. That is why we allocated PLN 280 million for the purchase of equipment for cancer diagnostics and treatment, reminded Kraska.

The Ministry of Health assumes that the Sejm will pass the act on the National Oncological Network by the end of the third quarter (work on the draft is still underway in the government). This will allow the implementation of solutions that are currently operating as part of a pilot project in the Dolnośląskie, Świętokrzyskie, Podlaskie and Pomorskie voivodeships. According to the plan on January 1, 2023, the network is to cover the entire country. - There are many small steps that have been taken. We are missing flagship projects. One of them is the National Cancer Portal, which is being implemented as planned - said prof. dr hab. n. med. Piotr Rutkowski, president of the Polish Society of Oncology. In his opinion, the fact that, despite the pandemic, about two-thirds of the goals were achieved, can be considered a success.

Prof. Piotr Rutkowski recalled that the colon cancer prophylaxis program had not been in operation for six months, but he assured that it was now available and would be modified with qualitative criteria.