[The burden of disease from cancer in Cuba, 1990-2002]

To describe the burden of disease, using morbidity and mortality in Cuba from 1990-2002, by cancer type and location.

A descriptive study of the disease burden in the years 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2002, by Cuba's most frequently associated cancer types and locations. Official Cuban sources were used to calculate years of potential life lost (YPLL) due to mortality (based on life expectancy) and morbidity (based on the incidence, average duration, and severity of the disease), as well as years of potential life lost per death (YPLL/D) and the disability-adjusted life years (DALY), for each cancer type and location, by sex and age group.

The locations with higher YPLL were also those with the greatest total burden: lung, breast, prostate, colon and rectum, and cervix, and showed an upward trend for all cancer types and locations, except leukemia. The morbidity-related YPLL were concentrated in: breast, lung, prostate, colon and rectum, and cervix. In men, the highest mortality-related YPLL values were in the oral cavity and oropharynx, esophagus, stomach, lung, bladder, melanoma, lymphoma, and leukemia; women were more affected by cancer of the colon and rectum. The highest YPLL/D values were observed for cervix, breast, ovaries, leukemia, and lymphoma. The cancer types and locations with more DALYs were: lung, breast, prostate, colon and rectum, cervix, and endometrium.

The burden of disease from cancer increased in Cuba from 1990-2002, mostly due to a rise in the mortality burden.