Mortalidad por cáncer en la mujer Chilena. Análisis comparativo entre los años 1997 y 2003

Abstract

Background: Cancer is the second cause of death in developed countries and shows a continuous reduction in rate independently of sex and race. Objectives: To compare the cancer mortality rate observed among Chilean women and establishing the main localizations causing death in that group in 1997 and 2003. Material and Methods: The cancer mortality rate was calculated using the total number of cancer deaths and the estimated women population obtained from the vital statistical reports of 1997 and 2003. Results: Between 1997 and 2003, it was a significant increase in overall cancer mortality rate among women. In both years, the five more frequent causes of cancer death were: breast, stomach, gallbladder, lung, and cervical cancer; among them, breast cancer increased and cervical cancer decreased, both significantly; the others did not experience significant rate changes. There were significant increases in other less frequent cancers such as: colon, pancreas, ovarian, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloma, brain, bladder, and lymphatic leukemia. Conclusions: Overall, there has been an increase in oncologycal mortality rate in Chilean women. With the exception of cervical cancer, the majority of the more frequent cancers have increased their mortality rate. This increasing mortality trend enforces to review the quality of the data registration, the existing health programs, and designing new strategies which will lead us to improve prevention, access, and quality of treatment, and finally to decrease cancer mortality. New strategies such that incorporated in Law 19,996 are called to change current outcomes.