PhD Scientific Days 2026

Poster Session 1.D - Pathological and Oncological Sciences

Prostate Cancer Incidence, Mortality, and Curative Treatment Utilization in Hungary

Name of the presenter

Lénárt, Ádám

Institute/workplace of the presenter

Institute of Clinical Pathophysiology

Authors

Ádám Lénárt¹, Tamás Fazekas², Péter Nyirády²
1: Institute of Clinical Pathophysiology
2: Semmelweis University, Department of Urology

Text of the abstract

The epidemiology and treatment of prostate cancer in Central and Eastern Europe remain less characterized compared with Western countries. We analyzed prostate cancer incidence, mortality, and treatment patterns in Hungary, and contextualized these findings within the broader European landscape.

This retrospective population-based study analyzed national incidence (Hungarian National Cancer Registry, 2001–2023), mortality (WHO Mortality Database), population estimates (Hungarian Central Statistical Office), insurance claim records (National Health Insurance Fund, NEAK, 2013–2024), and European comparative data from the European Cancer Information System (ECIS). Crude, age-specific, and age-standardized (2013 European Standard Population) rates were calculated, and county-level geographic variation analyses were conducted. Temporal trends were assessed using Joinpoint Regression (v5.4.0). Analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism v9.0.

Age-standardized incidence peaked at 137 per 100,000 in 2013, increasing by an average of 1.67% per year between 2001 and 2017 (95% CI −2.82 to 3.74), followed by a 6.62% decline between 2017 and 2021 (95% CI −11.72 to 8.51), while crude incidence continued to rise steadily (2.11% per year; 95% CI 1.40–2.88). Diagnoses were most commonly in men aged 70–79 years. Age-standardized mortality declined (over what time period) modestly to 42 per 100,000, whereas crude mortality increased after 2005. Hungary’s mortality-to-incidence ratio of 0.32 exceeded that of most Western European countries, while cumulative risk by age 74 remained among the lowest in Europe at 6.66%. The proportion of patients receiving definitive treatment increased from 23.8% in 2013 to 42.5% in 2024, driven by rising use of radiotherapy, although there was substantial regional variation in treatment.

Prostate cancer incidence in Hungary is relatively low, yet mortality remains comparatively high, yielding an elevated mortality-to-incidence ratio consistent with underdiagnosis rather than lower disease burden. These findings support the interpretation of underdiagnosis rather than a genuinely lower disease burden. These findings support the need for context-specific early detection strategies in Central and Eastern Europe, balancing concerns about overdiagnosis in high-incidence Western settings with the ongoing risk of late-stage detection.