Oncology news

Health at a Glance is published by OECD every two years, providing the assessment and comparison of health care in individual member countries based on clearly defined indicators. In the area of cancer care, Health at a Glance primarily focuses on three diagnoses which can be detected at early stages, and for which organised screening programmes are widely recommended: colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and cervical cancer.

On 30 October 2013, OECD published “Cancer Care” [1] as a summary of indicators for care provided to cancer patients in participating countries. According to the attached “country note” for the Czech Republic [2], cancer outcomes could be further improved, despite recent improvements in survival rates of cancer patients. Estimated 5-year survival rates for selected cancers are lower than the OECD average, and mortality rates are generally high, as a result of high cancer incidence rates among the Czech population, and a relatively late diagnosis.