Abstract
Abstract Background: Recent economic and social changes in low- and middle-income countries in Latin American have influenced the raise of noncommunicable diseases, including cancer. Data from cancer registries are critical for surveilling disease trends during periods of epidemiologic transition. The aim of this study is to generate population estimates of cancer incidence rates in Costa Rica and to evaluate geographical differences. Methods: The National Tumor Registry in Costa Rica was queried for cancer cases diagnosed between 2009-2014. Population data were used to calculate sex, country and region-specific age standardized rates (ASR) per 100,000 people using the World Health Organization's 2000 standard population. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to assess the effect of sex and geographic regions. Results: The overall cancer incidence rate in Costa Rica was 219.24 cases per 100,000. Females had a higher cancer rates relative to males (SIR: 1.1, 95% CI: 1.08-1.11, p < .001). The leading cancers were prostate (ASR: 53.09, 95% CI: 51.75-54.46), female breast (ASR: 48.73; 95% CI: 47.54-49.94), cervical (ASR: 30.78; 95% CI: 29.77-31.62), stomach (ASR: 17.45; 95% CI: 16.93-17.99), colorectal (ASR: 16.49; 95% CI: 15.98-17.00) and thyroid (ASR: 12.96; 95% CI: 12.54-13.40) cancers. San Jose had the highest breast and colon cancers rates whereas, Cartago had the highest rates for gastric and thyroid cancers. Conclusion: Costa Rica has a growing cancer burden involving preventable cancers. Continued monitoring of trends in incidence rates is needed to implement cancer control actions. Further involvement to create cancer prevention strategies and programs aimed to reduce cancer burden is warranted. Citation Format: Omar Picado, Jordan Baeker-Bispo, Layla Bouzoubaa, Raymond R. Balise, Gilberto Lopes, Erin N. Kobetz. Cancer patterns and trends in Costa Rica: A population-based tumor registry study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2018 Nov 2-5; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl):Abstract nr C056.
