title: Breast cancer in Latin America: global burden, patterns, and risk factors.
abstract: Breast cancer is a major public health problem in Latin America (LA) and the most common form of cancer among women. An important variability according to ethnicity/race with respect to incidence/mortality, clinical characteristics, and prognosis is observed throughout LA. In addition, women are more likely to develop breast cancer (BC) at younger age and to be diagnosed at an advanced stage compared to western women. While little is known about specific risk factors, changes in reproductive pattern (parity, breastfeeding) and lifestyle factors including sedentary behaviours, unhealthy diet, and alcohol intake may contribute to the increase of BC incidence. In this paper we give an overview of the burden and patterns of BC, review the leading causes of BC and discuss the possible ways to improve BC prevention and control in LA.
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Metabolism Section, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, Rhone, Francia.
authors.forename: Amina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amadou
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Torres-Mejía
authors.affiliation: International Prevention Research Institute, Lyon, Rhone, Francia.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hainaut
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Metabolism Section, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, Rhone, Francia.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Romieu
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics; D017281:Cost of Illness; D004032:Diet; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007843:Latin America / Q000453:epidemiology; D008019:Life Style; D009017:Morbidity / Q000639:trends; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D017584:Reproductive History; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology