In Belarus, the detection of cancer in the early stages exceeds 90%

In oncology, it is customary to distinguish four levels of prevention. The first is to prevent the very occurrence of malignant neoplasms. Here there is a fundamental difficulty: a significant part of carcinogenic factors does not depend on a person. Pollution of the environment, deterioration of the radiological background - even a single country can not seriously affect this, the impact is possible only at the global level. What really depends on the person is the way of life. This information was shared with the correspondent of sb.by by the deputy director for scientific work of the state institution "Republican Scientific and Practical Center of Oncology and Medical Radiology named after N. N. Aleksandrov" Sergey Krasny.

He added:

- Lifestyle means giving up bad habits, changing the food system. Belarus traditionally consumes a lot of red meat, little seafood, little vegetables and fruits – and this is the factor that contributes to the noticeable growth of malignant neoplasms. The next thing is a sedentary lifestyle. The dynamics of life are changing, and people mostly spend time at home or at work at the computer, little movement. A large percentage of residents are obese or overweight. All this also contributes to the development of malignant tumors. Separately, it is worth talking about stress. It is well known that it affects the immune defense of the body, but it is impossible to completely eliminate stressful situations, so special attention should be paid to switching activities. A significant reserve of primary prevention is vaccination against human papillomavirus. This is a real breakthrough for our country, as it has not been possible to get this vaccine for a long time. It is significant that everyone is well aware and afraid of epidemics of measles, tetanus, diphtheria, although these are isolated cases in the country. And the human papillomavirus infected up to 20 percent of the population, and in some age groups — up to 40 percent, that is, in fact, this is a real epidemic. From the causes associated with this virus, up to 2,000 people per year die in Belarus. Therefore, vaccination will be a huge help in reducing the incidence of malignant tumors, and in the results of treatment. A number of malignant tumors are associated with the human papilloma virus: not only the well-known cervical cancer, but also cancer of the mouth and throat, larynx, bladder, anal canal - this is only what is absolutely proven. It is possible that the virus is significant for other cancer localizations.

- It should be noted and another pathogen - Helicobacter pylori, a microorganism that acts as the main cause of stomach cancer, - said Sergey Krasny. It is imperative to identify and cure this agent. This is due to a significant decrease in the incidence of stomach cancer in Belarus in recent years and partly esophageal cancer: a large number of endoscopic examinations, biopsy on Helicobacter and subsequent effective treatment give results.

Another aspect of primary prevention is screening programs. Five have been developed in Belarus: screening for cervical, breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancer in smokers. Pilot projects have been completed, demonstrated high efficiency, and these programs are included in the medical examination. In 2025, within the framework of these programs, about a million studies were conducted; for a thousand studies, five cases of cancer detection, on the scale of the republic this is an additional five thousand new cases. In 2025, the first and second stages were 87 percent – very good numbers. And in 2026, preliminary data for nine months show the detection rate of the first and second stages is already 91 percent, and for cervical cancer - 99.9 percent. Hence, there will be good results of treatment.

- Screening is aimed not only at the early detection of malignant tumors, stressed Sergey Krasny. Two programs – for cervical cancer and colorectal cancer – are aimed precisely at preventing the development of cancer: at identifying pretumor diseases and their timely treatment. In cervical cancer, this is dysplasia, in colorectal cancer, the identification and removal of polyps. The earlier the tumor is detected, the better the results of treatment and less costs. In this regard, it is worth noting the development of endoscopic technologies: when detected at an early stage, you do not need to do large operations, use chemoradiotherapy - you can cure with the help of endoscopic minimally invasive technologies.

The third level of prevention is prevention among already treated patients. Here the task is to prevent the development of recurrence of the disease. Finally, the fourth level is ensuring a satisfactory quality of life for treated patients using modern technologies. The goal is to ensure that the quality of life of the treated patient does not differ from the quality of life of a healthy person. By 2030, life expectancy in Belarus should reach 76.5 years - Ministry of Health Photo at the announcement: SB archive