A.A. Valiev1, A.N. Khisamutdinov1–3, B.I. Gataullin1, 2, 4, R.Sh. Khasanov1, 2, B.R. Valitov1, E.V. Nagumanov1
1Republic Clinical Oncological Dispensary named after Prof. M.Z. Sigal, Kazan
2Kazan State Medical Academy — branch of the Russian Medical Academy of Continuing Professional Education, Kazan
3Kazan State Medical University, Kazan
4Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan
Gataullin B.I. — PhD (Medicine), Associate Professor of the Department of Surgery
76 Karl Marks St., Kazan 420012, Russian Federation, tel. +7-962-553-31-08, e-mail: bulatg@list.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0003-1695-168X
The purpose — a comprehensive analysis of trends in incidence, stage distribution, treatment outcomes, and organizational aspects of medical care for patients with gastrointestinal tract (GIT) malignant neoplasms (MN) in the Republic of Tatarstan (RT) in 2020–2024, with a detailed assessment of gastric cancer (GC) and primary liver cancer (PLC).
Material and methods. A retrospective analysis used data from official statistical reports of P.A. Herzen Moscow Oncology Research Institute and Cancer registry of Republic Clinical Oncological Dispensary named after Prof. M.Z. Sigal over a 5-year period (2020–2024). The analyzed parameters included incidence, prevalence, disease structure and stage at diagnosis, one-year mortality, as well as resource and workforce availability in the Republic of Tatarstan. Descriptive statistics, comparative and trend analyses were applied. Statistics was processed using IBM SPSS Statistics v.26.
Results. Republic of Tatarstan faced a steady increase in overall cancer incidence from 450.1 to 486.5 per 100,000 population. The proportion of GIT MN remained stable, accounting for 27–28% of the total cancer incidence. The highest shares were observed for colorectal (CRC) (7.7% — colon, 6.2% — rectal) and gastric cancer (GC) (5.4%). An in-depth analysis of RT data for 2020–2024 revealed substantial variability in one-year mortality depending on tumor localization and disease stage. For gastric cancer, one-year mortality in 2024 amounted to 38.6%, a sustained downward trend from 43.7% in 2020. However, one-year mortality for stage IV disease remained critically high (72.1% in 2024), whereas for stage I it did not exceed 6.0%.
For colorectal cancer, one-year mortality in 2024 was significantly lower (16.7%), also a favorable decrease compared with 19.8% in 2020. One-year mortality at stage I remained minimal (1.8% in 2024), while reaching 54.7% at stage IV.
The highest one-year mortality rates throughout the study period were observed in primary liver cancer, particularly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), reaching 60.8% in 2024, with maximum values recorded at stage IV (78.0%).
For biliary tract cancer, one-year mortality in 2024 was 56.6%, demonstrating considerable interannual fluctuations. Analysis of the proportion of patients under five or more years follow-up showed a stable increase in colorectal cancer, reaching 53.6% by 2024. A positive trend was also observed for gastric cancer, with this indicator reaching 61.1% in 2024. Overall one-year mortality for gastrointestinal malignancies in the Republic of Tatarstan (15.1%) was significantly lower than the national average in Russia (17.3%). At the same time, systemic organizational problems were identified, particularly related to waiting times for high-technology diagnostic procedures.
Conclusion. The organization of oncological care for gastrointestinal malignancies in RT is characterized by high efficiency, as evidenced by consistently favorable indicators of early detection and 5-year follow-up outcomes. The integrative analysis confirmed that, despite persistently high one-year mortality at advanced stages, the Republic of Tatarstan has achieved progress in reducing one-year mortality and increasing the proportion of patients with long-term survival, particularly for malignancies with effective screening programs such as colorectal and gastric cancer.
The greatest potential for further improvement lies in the treatment of primary liver cancer, where one-year mortality rates remain high. The achieved results are a logical outcome of the systematic implementation of measures under National Project No. 309 «On the National Goals of the Russian Federation Development up to 2030 and for the prospective up to 2036», as well as monitoring of the federal project “Fight Against Oncological Diseases” (code D3) within the national project «Active and Long Life» (code D), in accordance with the Presidential Decree of May 7, 2024. Further development should focus on advanced diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, as well as addressing organizational bottlenecks, which is essential for sustaining and improving the achieved results.
Key words: cancer epidemiology, gastrointestinal malignancies (GIT MNs), gastric cancer, primary liver cancer (PLC), colorectal cancer (CRC), Republic of Tatarstan (RT), oncological care, staging, diagnosis, healthcare organization