Cáncer de mama, su caracterización epidemiológica

Introduction: Breast cancer is a health problem, ranking the second leading cause of cancer death in women. Objective: To describe the epidemiology of breast cancer in women from Pinar del Rio municipality in the period 2012-2013. Materials and methods: an observational, descriptive study was conducted. The target group was comprised of all women attending to the cancer hospital during 2012 and 2013 from Pinar del Rio municipality and presenting clinical-pathologic diagnosis of breast cancer (N = 135). To obtain the information a survey was conducted where the main variables were collected from demographic data (age), personal history of benign and malignant lesions, family history of breast cancer, elements associated with nutritional status, lifestyles of patients, as well as their endocrine and reproductive characteristics. Statistical data processing was performed using summary measures for qualitative variables (absolute frequencies with percentages) and (average) quantitative variables. Results: the disease prevailed between 50 and 69 years old. The most common risk factors were early menarche, non-breastfeeding women or those breastfeeding lees than 4 months and the use of hormonal contraceptives. Conclusion: at least one known risk factor for developing breast cancer was identified in women studied, however the nonexistence of these risk factors do not exclude the possibility of suffering from it.