History of Oncology in Slovakia

Summary

The history of oncology in Slovakia is closely linked to the history of St. Elizabeth Hospital, which was set up in the mid-18^th century by nuns of the St. Elizabeth Order in Bratislava. In the first half of the 20^th century, a unit was set up in the hospital dedicated to diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Shortly after World War II, the unit was turned into the Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment. In 1950, St. Elizabeth Hospital was nationalized, and the Cancer Research Institute of the Slovak Academy of Science and the Institute of Clinical Oncology were located there as centers for oncological diagnosis and treatment. After the restitution of church property in the early 1990s, the hospital was returned to the Order of St. Elizabeth, which set up the St. Elisabeth Cancer Institute in the hospital premises in January of 1996. This year marks the 20^th anniversary of this institute in its new premises and the 85^th anniversary of the Institute of Radiumtherapy founded in Bratislava, and thus the establishment of institutional healthcare for cancer patients in Slovakia is the reason for balancing. We present a view of the consecutive changes in the organization, space and staff of the Institute and evaluate the impact of celebrities on medicine who developed oncology as a clinical, scientific and educational discipline in Bratislava and in other cities and regions of Slovakia.

Key words:
oncology –  history –  development –  foretime –  present time –  distinguished celebrities

The authors declare they have no potential conflicts of interest concerning drugs, products, or services used in the study.

The Editorial Board declares that the manuscript met the ICMJE recommendation for biomedical papers.

Submitted:
1. 3. 2016

Accepted:
14. 5. 2016