5% more cancer cases annually in Kosovo, KUK without capacity to cope

In Kosovo, the number of new cancer cases is increasing at a pace of about 5% annually, says Kosovo University Clinical Centre Clinic Director Ilir Kurtishi.

He explains that this trend is the result of several factors, including air pollution, unbalancing smoking or diets, but also increased awareness of citizens of conducting regular controls.

According to the Kosovo University Clinical Centre's clinical cancer registry at the Oncology Clinic, about 1,080 new cancer cases have been recorded between January and July 2025.

Nationally-level data from the Kosovo Statistics Agency shows that over the past decade, the number of new cases has followed an almost constant trend of growth.

Kurtishi points out that a significant portion of the cases continue to be diagnosed in advanced stages of the disease.

He mentions some additional factors that contribute to its spread and progress:

“virus infections, contraceptive substance use, physical and other activity”.

The digestive system organs such as the colon or stomach are among the most vulnerable to malignant tumors, as cancer forms are otherwise known.

Tumores in the breasts and genital organs are also among the most popular.

In a response to Radio Free Europe, the National Institute of Public Health of Kosovo (IKSHPK) suggests that during 2024 the most common types of cancer have been: breast cancer with 640 cases (17.6%), followed by other skin cancers with 587 cases (13.8%), lung and bronze with 312 cases (8.6%) and colon cancer with 193 cases (5.3%).

In total, during the January-December 2024 period, 3,644 new cases of malignant disease were reported.

According to statistics, 51.8% of those affected are women and 48.2% men, while the oldest age group is over 60 years old.

The prevalence shows how many people live with cancer at a certain time was 288.3 cases of 100 thousand people in 2024, while the incision measuring new cases diagnosed during the year has reached 227.4 cases for 100,000 inhabitants, the IKSHPK data shows.

According to the institute, increased cancer cases relate to similar factors in other countries: demographic changes, environmental pollution, lifestyle, improved diagnosis and reporting, as well as a lack of special programmes for prevention and early detection.

In the past five years, the treatment of cancer patients at the University Clinical Centre in Kosovo has increased markedly.

However, the capacities of the Oncology Clinic do not seem to have been able to cope with this growth.

Conditions in this clinic continue to be limited whether in space, personnel, or equipment.

There are a total of 110 beds for patients who receive chemotherapy.

Free Europe Radio has reported earlier that this treatment is often offered in improvised halls.

And patients often face long expectations, in the absence of capacity, whether in doctors or drugs.

The medical staff constantly emphasizes the need for greater investments, which are also made but often is not enough to significantly improve the quality of treatment or reduce the increased flow of patients.

According to a World Health Organization report released last year, about 1 person in 5 develops cancer during life, and approximately 1 out of 9 men and 1 in 12 women die of this disease.

Kurtishi highlights the importance of controlling as regular as you can estimate that early diagnosis of any disease significantly increases the chances for successful treatment. / REL