cvanr9eprul1am_UserUpload.Net

10

The need to build on recent progress

environments, but also more screening and

awareness.11,

But it is striking to see that in countries such

as Bolivia and Paraguay (lower-income and

upper-middle-income countries, respectively),

cervical cancer, a largely preventable cancer,

is at the top of incidence and mortality

estimates, more in line with the profiles of low-

income countries. Cervical cancer is the fourth

most common type of cancer by incidence

rate (per 100,000) in Latin America. Only in

Africa is it more common (age-standardised

rate per 100,000).^13 As pointed out by the

Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO),

each year in LAC more than 56,000 women

are diagnosed with cervical cancer and more

than 28,000 die.^14 This is in spite of the fact

that the HPV vaccine is known to prevent 70%

of cervical cancers.^15 “It is regrettable that

women die of cervical cancer in Latin America.

This reflects the great inequalities in health,

the lack of access for conditions of poverty,”

says Wilson Merino Rivadeneira, co-ordinator

11 MS Sierra, et al., “Cancer patterns and trends in Central and South America.” Cancer Epidemiology, 2016.
12 F Bray et al., “Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries”, CA: a
Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 2018.
13 J Ferlay et al., Global Cancer Observatory: Cancer Today.
14 PAHO, “El cáncer cervicouterino es el tercero más frecuente entre las mujeres de América Latina y Caribe, pero se puede prevenir”, 2019.
15 L Thaxton and AG Waxman, “Cervical cancer prevention: immunization and screening 2015”, Medical Clinics of North America, 2015.

Table 2: Most common cancers (total incidence and mortality), 2018

Country

Incidence (total) 2018, both sexes Mortality (total) 2018, both sexes

1 2 3 1 2 3

Argentina Breast Colorectum Prostate Lung Colorectum Breast

Bolivia Cervix uteri Prostate Gallbladder Gallbladder Cervix uteri Lung

Brazil Breast Prostate Colorectum Lung Colorectum Breast

Chile Prostate Colorectum Breast Lung Stomach Colorectum

Colombia Breast Prostate Colorectum Stomach Lung Colorectum

Costa Rica Prostate Breast Colorectum Stomach Colorectum Prostate

Ecuador Prostate Breast Stomach Stomach Prostate Colorectum

Mexico Breast Prostate Colorectum Colorectum Prostate Breast

Panama Prostate Breast Colorectum Prostate Lung Stomach

Paraguay Breast Prostate Cervix uteri Lung Colorectum Breast

Peru Prostate Breast Stomach Stomach Lung Prostate

Uruguay Colorectum Breast Lung Lung Colorectum Breast

Latin America

and Caribbean

Breast Prostate Colorectum Lung Colorectum Prostate

Source: Cancer Today 2018.