After cardiovascular disease, cancer care is the second cause of death in LAC (see Chapter 3). Bray et al. estimated that cancer was the cause of 670 000 deaths in 2018 in LAC (Bray et al., 2018[1]). While prostate, breast and colorectal cancer are the main cancers in the region, cancer types with low five‑year survival rates are a good indicator of the quality of advanced cancer care in a country’s health system.
Lung (90 000, 7% of all cancers) and stomach (67 000, 5% of all cancers) cancer were the fourth and fifth most common cancers in the region in 2018 (Jemal et al., 2019[2]). However, Lung cancer’s high mortality rate makes it the leading cause of death (81 000, 12% of all cancer deaths), while stomach cancer accounts for 8% of all cancer deaths (52 000 in 2018).
The average five‑year survival rate of Lung cancer in OECD countries is 17.1% for patients diagnosed between 2010 and 2014. This rate is just 13.3% in LAC. Cuba has the highest survival rate among LAC countries with available data with 30.1% of lung cancer patients surviving after 5 years. Costa Rica (20.1%) is the only other country in the region with a higher than OECD average survival rate. Chile has the lowest recorded five‑year survival rate with only 4.6%, half the LAC average survival rate and 73% lower than the OECD average (Figure 7.7).
For stomach cancer, the LAC average five‑year survival rate stands at 23.7% of patients diagnosed between 2010 and 2014. The OECD average (29.6% of patients) is 25% higher. As with Lung cancer, Chile has the lowest five‑year survival with only 16.7% of stomach cancer patients surviving after 5 years. Costa Rica (40.6%) and Cuba (35.7%) lead the region and again are the only two countries with five‑year survival rates higher than the OECD average (Figure 7.8).
Colorectal cancer causes almost 65 000 deaths per year in LAC (Bray et al., 2018[1]). While the term colorectal includes cancer starting both in the Colon and the Rectum, five‑year survival rates are importantly higher for Colon cancers. Costa Rica leads the group of five LAC countries with available data with 93.5% of patients surviving after 5 years. Together with Brazil (88.2%), they are above the OECD average of 85.7%. Ecuador has the lowest survival rate for Colon cancer among those with data, with 67.3% (Figure 7.9).
Melanoma of skin accounts for 18 881 new cancer cases in LAC every year, and about 5 650 deaths (Bray et al., 2018[1]). Figure 7.10 presents the five‑year survival rate of patients diagnosed with melanoma of the skin. The LAC six countries with available data are below the OEDC average rate of 83%. Costa Rica has the highest five‑year survival in the group with 77.2%, while Ecuador has the lowest with 57.9%.
