Mitrovica North Clinical-Health Centre Director, Milan Ivanovic told TV Most today there are 4 to 5 times more patients at the Oncology Ward in the hospital than before. Ivanovic welcomed the decision of the Serbian Assembly to establish a Commission that would investigate the consequences of the 1999 NATO bombardment of Serbia, adding it is in interest of patients to know the real truth and undertake necessary measures. He also told TV Most drastic rise in the number of affected cannot be explained differently than as a consequence of NATO bombardment with depleted uranium, in area of Kosovo and Metohija, where bombardment campaign was very intensive. “We, the medics note the rise of percentage of malignant diseases. We have conducted a research involving Serb population, in a year prior to bombardment, and afterwards, respectively in 1998 and 2001, and we found out number of those affected in a year following the bombardment was 2.2 times higher than the number of those affected in a year prior to the bombardment,” Ivanovic said, adding they observe the rise of malignant diseases over the years and currently there are 4 to 5 times more patients than before, KIM Radio reported.