• Ruffo Freitas-Junior, Carolina Maciel Reis Gonzaga, Nilceana Maya Aires Freitas, Edesio Martins, and DardesRita de Cássia de MaioRde C.
• Federal University of Goias, Program of Mastology, Goiania/GO, Brazil. ruffojr@terra.com.br
• Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2012 Jul 1; 67 (7): 731737731-7.

ObjectiveTo describe the temporal trends in female breast cancer mortality rates in Brazil in its macro-regions and states between 1980 and 2009.MethodsThis was an ecological time-series study using data on breast cancer deaths registered in the Mortality Data System (SIM/WHO) and census data on the resident population collected by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE/WHO). Joinpoint regression analyses were used to identify the significant changes in trends and to estimate the annual percentage change (APC) in mortality rates.ResultsFemale breast cancer mortality rates in Brazil tended to stabilize from 1994 onward (APC = 0.4%). Considering the Brazilian macro-regions, the annual mortality rates decreased in the Southeast, stabilized in the South and increased in the Northeast, North, and Midwest. Only the states of Sao Paulo (APC = -1.9%), Rio Grande do Sul (APC = -0.8%) and Rio de Janeiro (APC = -0.6%) presented a significant decline in mortality rates. The greatest increases were found in Maranhao (APC=12%), Paraiba (APC=11.9%), and Piaui (APC=10.9%).ConclusionAlthough there has been a trend toward stabilization in female breast cancer mortality rates in Brazil, when the mortality rate of each macro-region and state is analyzed individually, considerable inequalities are found, with rate decline or stabilization in states with higher socioeconomic levels and a substantial increase in those with lower socioeconomic levels.

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