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8

The need to build on recent progress

Introduction:

The burden of cancer in Latin America

The challenge continues to grow

The challenge of cancer in Latin America

continues to grow, posing serious risks to the

health systems of the region and requiring a

well-planned response. According to the latest

available estimates from the IARC, there were

about 1.4m new cases of cancer in LAC in

2018 and more than 670,000 deaths.^2 Fuelled

by population ageing, the figures will continue

to rise. The IARC estimates that new cases

will reach nearly 2m in 2030, while deaths will

reach around 980,000, an increase of 40% and

46% respectively. From a global perspective,

the region has the fourth-highest cancer

incidence (age-standardised per 100,000),

after Oceania, North America and Europe,

and is above Asia and Africa. It is sixth for

mortality.

Estimates from the Institute for Health Metrics

and Evaluation (IHME) reveal that in 2010-

(latest available data) the percentage of deaths

due to cancer, out of all possible causes, rose

for the aggregate of Latin America and the

Caribbean. Within the group of 12 countries

2 J Ferlay et al., Global Cancer Observatory: Cancer Today

Table 1: Cancer as a cause of death, percentage and ranking, estimates

Country

2010 2 017

Cancer as a

percentage of all

deaths

Rank by cause of

death

Cancer as a

percentage of all

deaths

Rank by cause of

death

Argentina 22.0% 2nd 22.3% 2nd

Bolivia 16.7% 2nd 18. 3% 2nd

Brazil 17. 4 % 2nd 18.2% 2nd

Chile 26.2% 2nd 26.8% 1st

Colombia 18. 3% 2nd 19.9% 2nd

Costa Rica 23.9% 2nd 24. 3% 2nd

Ecuador 17. 5% 2nd 18.4% 2nd

Mexico 13. 5% 3rd 13.7% 3rd

Panama 17. 4 % 2nd 18.5% 2nd

Paraguay 16.2% 2nd 17. 3 % 2nd

Peru 18.9% 2nd 20.1% 1st

Uruguay 29.0% 2nd 28.6% 2nd

Latin America and

Caribbean (average)

15. 2% 2nd 17.1% 2nd

Note: Cancer figures are approximations and include all kinds of neoplasms.

Source: IHME, Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx).