The state of oncology services in the Kyrgyz Republic

Abstract

At the National Center for Oncology and Hematology under the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic, more than 35,163 thousand Kyrgyz people with oncopathology were registered as of the beginning of 2025. The lack of access to modern technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of oncological diseases, as well as medicines, still remains an unresolved problem, as evidenced by the low 5-year survival rate of patients in 2024 - 34.2%. In the period from 2020 to 2024, the absolute number of patients with malignant tumors in the republic increased: if in 2020 5377 were registered, then by the end of 2024 their number reached 6651. The absolute number of deaths from malignant tumors in 2020 was 3,539, in 2021 - 3,438, in 2022 - 3,352, in 2023 - 3,420 and in 2024 - 3,390 people. In 2024, the incidence of malignant tumors in the Kyrgyz Republic (number of new cases) is expected to increase by 91.3 per 100,000 population and the number of deaths will decrease by 46.5 per 100,000. In 2021, the number of new cases was 85.1 per 100,000 population, in 2022 - 88.5 per 100,000 population, and in 2023 - 86.0 per 100,000 population. In terms of causes of death from all diseases in the Kyrgyz Republic, malignant tumors are in second place after diseases of the circulatory system. The mortality rate in 2021 was 51.0 per 100 thousand population, in 2022 it was 48.1 per 100 thousand population, and in 2023 it was 48.2 per 100 thousand population. In 2023, the incidence was 446.35; annual mortality was 46.3. In 2024, the annual mortality was 30.7 per 100 thousand population. The largest number of patients with malignant tumors was recorded in Naryn region - 120.3 per 100 thousand population, followed by Chui region, Bishkek city, Issyk-Kul region - 120.0, 116.1 and 114.2 per 100 thousand population. The number of deaths from malignant neoplasms in the Kyrgyz Republic is in descending order of indicators: Naryn region - 72.7% 000, Issyk-Kul region - 58.4% 000, Chui region - 55.8% 000. Thus, 55.4% of cancer cases occur in people aged 35-64 years. In the structure of oncological diseases, the first place is occupied by: stomach cancer -12.8%, in the second place - breast cancer -12.6%, in the third place - lung cancer -8.4%, in the fourth place - cervical cancer -7.2%, in the fifth place - liver cancer -5.1%. In the structure of deaths in the Kyrgyz Republic, the first place is occupied by stomach cancer (8.2%), in the second place - lung cancer (6.0%), in the third place - breast cancer (4.2%). In the Kyrgyz Republic, stages 3-4 of the disease are diagnosed in 54.5% of patients across the country. The highest incidence of patients with stage 4. lung cancer – 48.4%, liver cancer, intrahepatic bile ducts – 50.4% and stomach cancer – 36.6%. Conclusion. These figures indicate a lack of information about cancer risk and prevention factors and low oncological awareness of primary care physicians and are a key indicator of the effectiveness of the entire healthcare system in preventing and early diagnosis.

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