Rastreamento mamográfico do câncer em mulheres do sul do Rio Grande do Sul com intervenção de mamógrafo móvel

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate a program of prevention and early diagnosis of breast cancer, performed with a mobile mammography unit that visited several cities in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost State in Brazil, where these exams were not available. To better contextualize these findings, we compared the characteristics of those women with those of a group of women who were referred for mammography in the city of Pelotas, where such equipment is widely available. With the mobile unit were examined 8607 women residing in 22 municipalities. We identified 37 cases of breast cancer, which corresponds to 4.7 cases per 1000 examinations. On the other hand, in Pelotas, 1,312 patients were submitted to mammography, and the prevalence of breast cancer was 6.9 cases by 1,000 exams. There were no statistical differences between the two prevalences, even after adjusting for potential confounders. The proposed intervention demonstrates that the availability of tests is needed for prevention and early diagnosis of breast cancer, determining the identification of cases whose diagnoses would have been delayed if this unit was not present.