[Oral autopsy in dead women from breast cancer]

To discover, through the use of verbal autopsies, the primary characteristics of patients who have died of breast cancer (BCa).

We reviewed 105 death certificates where BCa was registered as the cause of death in a one-year period. A verbal autopsies instrument was designed for BCa, it was validated through expert consultation. A test-retest and Spearman coefficient were applied. The instrument explored sociodemographic, biological, life-style and health services variables. Data was obtained from patients' relatives. Any patient whose family could not be located or declined to participate was excluded from the study.

Eighty-one verbal autopsies were applied (77%). The mean age at the time of death was 53 +/- 15. There was a direct family history of BCa in 25%; and in 31 % there was overweight or obesity. Only 17% of the tumors were discovered by health care workers, and the mean survival after diagnosis was 2.3 +/- 2 years.

The verbal autopsy for BCa is a useful tool. It showed that 83 % of the deceased women identified the tumor by themselves. The health services must reinforce programs for BCa early detection.