GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION AND TRENDS OF WOMEN BREAST CANCER MORTALITY IN TURKEY BETWEEN 2009-2019

Abstract

Objectives: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women all over the World. It is in the first line, causing deaths because of cancer in women worldwide. However, its progress differs regarding the counties’ socioeconomic and cultural features. The aim of this study is to estimate breast cancer mortality rates in Turkish women by geographic region and to evaluate 11-year mortality trends. Materials and Methods: Joinpoint Regression Analysis was used to estimate the trends of mortality from breast cancer by gender and age groups for every geographic region. Also, we used the world standard population (100,000 women) was used to estimate the age-standardized mortality rates as a reference to calculate age-standardized mortality rates. Results: We found that nearly 39,000 women died from breast cancer between the years 2009-2019. During this 11-year period, the age-standardized mortality rate in Turkey was 6.84 per 100,000 women in 2009, while it rose up to 8.16 in 2019 with a significant increase of 1.78 per year (Confidence Interval: 0.57:3.00) p=0.009). This change was observed especially in TR2, TR7, TR9, TRA, TRB and TRC regions. According to the age groups examined, significant increases were observed in all age groups in Turkey. Conclusion: Breast cancer is still a very important health problem in Turkish women of all ages. It is essential to take measures to reduce the breast cancer mortality rate and increase early diagnosis opportunities in our country. © 2023 The Author(s).