Cancer Epidemiological Profile Characterization in a Countryside City in the State of São Paulo: Knowledge for Action

Abstract

Cancer is currently a problem of the public health system and cancer care is among the most expensive treatments in the social sphere. In order to change this situation, it is essential to encourage the search for accurate information about cancer incidence rate in the population, enabling the implementation of public policies aimed at reducing harm, expenses and mortality rates. This is a cross-sectional, and descriptive study whose aim  is to characterize the epidemiological profile of cancer patients treated by the public system of a countryside city in the state of Sao Paulo. The data were collected through the reading of 105 records of patients over 25 years old, living in the city and diagnosed with neoplasm, treated between January 1998 and December 2008. Most of them were women (60.2%) and breast cancer was the most prevalent type of cancer in this population, pointing to the need for investments in early detection and use of educational measures. Prostate cancer was the most common type of cancer among men, similarly to the data found in Brazil in 1999, with 66.7% of the patients being over 65 years of age and the remainder (33.3%) ranging from 61 to 63 years of age. The incidence of cancer in men from 45 to 64 years old (57.7%) is surprising, since at this age bracket men are still productive. From these data, it was possible to characterize the epidemiological profile of cancer in the region studied, offer subsidies for the implementation of public policies aimed at improving care for the patients assisted by the Unified Health System.