Last year, 3589 people lost their lives to cancer, almost at the same level as the previous year, but the data show that the most affected by this disease were women aged 30-40.
During the pandemic year where all the attention and energies of the health system were focused on the management of Covid-19, tumor disease has proved fatal in the young ages of the population. According to official INSTAT data in women aged 30-34 years tumor fatalities increased by 120 percent. A total of 11 farms lost the battle with life at this age from 5 in 2019. Also 21 farms aged 35 -40 years faced death due to tumors with a 100 percent increase compared to 2019 (see Chart below) .
Oncologists argue that during the pandemic year the difficulties in obtaining medical services and routine chemotherapy treatments that cancer patients usually receive increased. Restrictions on movement made it difficult to treat them in the second quarter of the year, and many people could not be diagnosed in time to avoid a possible infection with the virus in hospitals.
Neoplasms increased higher in women than in men. Fatalities among women increased by 2.2% in 2020, influenced by the age groups 30-39 and 60-64.
During 2020, mortality in men from this disease fell by 1 percent. But while in total there were fewer lives lost in men, at young ages 30-50 years there was an increase in lives lost compared to 2019 (see graph below).
Neoplasms were the third largest group of diseases that cause fatalities. Mortality is usually highest in people over the age of 60, but year after year there is a decline in young age as a result of malnutrition, pollution and lifestyle.
Men are most affected, and influenced by the lifestyle they lead. Pneumologists claim that there is a significant increase in cases of lung tumors, which are caused by smoking and environmental pollution.
62.6% of the total lives lost to tumors were men in 2020. But compared to a year ago there is an increase in the prevalence of women by about 1 percentage point due to the higher increase in mortality of women from tumors compared to men. Doctors claim that uterine and breast tumors are spreading rapidly and are declining at younger ages.
Gjirokastra, the region most deaths from tumors
The data by regions show that Gjirokastra has the highest mortality per population. In 2020 in Gjirokastra there were 24.4 people losing their lives from tumors per 10 thousand inhabitants. Then come Berat, Korça and Vlora with about 16 deaths per 10 thousand inhabitants.
Tirana and Durrës had the lowest number of deaths from tumors in relation to the population, respectively with 9.9 and 10.4 deaths per 10 thousand inhabitants.
The prevalence per thousand inhabitants with cancer is seen to have increased by 70% over the decade, according to hospital data.
