Cancer incidence and mortality in Bucaramanga, Colombia. 2008-2012

Cancer is a burden in the world, especially for the least developed countries. The Population Registries of Cancer are fundamental in order to know the territorial profiles of cancer, and to evaluate the impact of their control programs.

To estimate the incidence and mortality from cancer in the Metropolitan Area of ​​Bucaramanga in the period 2008-2012.

A descriptive population study of cancer incidence and mortality in the Metropolitan Area of ​​Bucaramanga was conducted. Primary invasive cancer cases from the 2008-2012 period was obtained from the RPC-AMB base. Population and death data were provided by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE, for its initials in Spanish). Crude rates of global and specific incidence and mortality were estimated by sex, and standardized incidence and mortality rates.

During the five-year period, 8,775 incidents of cancer were recorded (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer). The global standardized incidence rates per 100,000 person-years were 151.7 in men and 157.2 in women. The main locations were prostate, stomach and colorectal, in men; breast, thyroid and colorectal in women. The standardized mortality rate per 100,000 person-years was 94.8 in men and 78.0 in women.

The incidence and mortality rates in most locations are lower than the national ones and those in the previous quinquennium in the Metropolitan Area of ​​Bucaramanga. Thyroid cancer, colorectal cancer, and leukemia show a tendency to increase, which demands further investigation.