From January 2 to November 26, 2022, the Ministry of Health (SSA) diagnosed a total of 19,039 malignant breast tumors in both women and men, as well as 3,591 cases of cervical cancer in the country. In addition, a total of 34,510 women with cervical dysplasia have been detected. These conditions are abnormal formations in the tissues such as the breasts and the womb, which can complicate the health of people and, without a timely diagnosis, even cause death.
In the Peninsula, 725 (3.9 percent) cases of breast cancer have been quantified, with Yucatan being the Entity that reports the most cases with 378 (2.0 percent); It is followed by Campeche with 202 diagnoses (1.1 percent) and last is Quintana Roo, with 145 reports (0.8 percent).
According to the 2021 Registered Deaths Statistics, carried out by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), during the past year 90,525 people died from malignant tumors in Mexico (8.1 percent of all deaths). Of this number, 7,973 deaths from breast cancer were recorded, of which 99.4 percent were women and 0.6 percent men.
In addition, the mortality rate from breast cancer, in women aged 20 years and over, was estimated at 18 deaths per 100,000 women in this age group at the national level, but the highest rate of deaths from this disease was registered in women aged 60 and over, with 48.24 deaths for every 100,000 women aged 20 and over.
Risk factors
Although breast cancer cannot be prevented, timely detection is the only option to discover this condition, that is, to reduce deaths from this type of disease, women must be diagnosed at an early stage, says the SSA. For this, it is necessary to carry out three basic detection actions: self-examination, clinical examination and mammography.
But not only that, it is also necessary to have knowledge of the risk factors that can favor the development of breast cancer, which can be biological, environmental, reproductive or lifestyle.
Among the biological ones are the female sex, aging (the older the risk, the greater the risk), genetics, menstrual life of more than 40 years (onset of menstruation before the age of 12 and menopause after the age of 52), dense breast tissue, being a carrier known BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes.
Regarding environmental factors, there is exposure to ionizing radiation, mainly during development or growth (in utero, in adolescence), and treatment with radiotherapy in the thorax. Reproductive factors include not having had children, first full-term pregnancy after age 30, and perimenopausal or postmenopausal hormone therapy for more than five years.
While those related to lifestyles can be a diet rich in carbohydrates and low in fiber, a diet rich in fats of both animal origin and trans fatty acids, obesity, mainly after menopause; sedentary lifestyle, alcohol consumption and smoking.
Cervix
On the other hand, malignant tumors of the cervix detected in Mexico amount to 3,591 of which the Peninsula registers 211 (5.9 percent), so that in Yucatan there is the highest number, with 81 diagnoses (2.3 percent), followed by Campeche with 70 (1.9 percent) and Quintana Roo with 60 (1.7 percent).
This condition is the fourth most common type of cancer in women worldwide, and is more common in those living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
Along these lines, cervical dysplasia is another condition associated with cervical cancer, which is generally detected through a Papanicolaou test. This disease is also caused by HPV and can cause cancer if left untreated.
In this regard, the SSA quantifies that in Mexico there are a total of 34,510 cases of cervical dysplasia: 29,833 mild and moderate cases (2.3 percent), and 4,677 severe diagnoses and carcinoma in situ (2.9 percent). so that in the Peninsula there have been 682 mild and moderate diagnoses, as well as 136 severe cases or with carcinoma in situ.
It is worth mentioning that carcinoma in situ is carcinoma that has not broken the basal layer and therefore has not spread in the body. These tumors are considered to be capable of being cured with excision, if detected early. While mild cases of cervical dysplasia may go away without treatment, if necessary, the procedure may include surgery or laser therapy.
In this sense, Quintana Roo has the highest figures in the Peninsula with 467 cases of mild and moderate cervical dysplasia (1.6 percent) and 77 severe or carcinomas (1.6 percent); behind is Yucatán with 172 not-so-serious cases (0.6 percent) and with 42 serious (0.9 percent). While Campeche registers 43 non-worrying cases (0.1 percent) and 17 significant diagnoses (0.4 percent)
According to figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2020 this disease had an incidence of 604 thousand new cases per year and 342 thousand deaths; however, this type of cancer is preventable and, if detected early with proper treatment, may be curable, the SSA states.
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