• April 27, 2024

Every year, in Mexico, 15 thousand new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed and about 8 thousand 500 die from this cause. Since 2006, deaths from neoplasia are the leading cause of death in women over 25 years of age and a serious public health problem in Mexico.

80% of cases of breast cancer initially presents as a painless tumor; in 10% the pain in the breast is the initial symptom and in another 10% the tumor is discovered during a routine examination or an imaging study.

Breast cancer is classified in stages I, II, III and IV. The IV being the most advanced and the I the initial. To have a good prognosis of this disease, we must consider the stage in which it is detected, the size of the tumor and, above all, the presence or not of metastatic lymph nodes in the axilla.

Breast cancer research program

For several years, various efforts have been made by health, academic and civil institutions to stop this disease. Thus, the Institute of Biomedical Research (IIB) of the UNAM launched last year the Breast Cancer Research Program, coordinator by Dr. Alfonso León del Río .

Its mission is to increase the basic knowledge we have about it, to look for new markers that allow us to diagnose it earlier, as well as new treatment alternatives.

"In developed countries such as the United States, England, France or Canada, mortality from breast cancer has been decreasing since the 1990s, as a result of screening programs, but also of the development of many drugs used to control this disease" , he stressed.

He said that unlike those countries, breast cancer has been on the rise in Mexico; In addition, while in these nations the average age of onset of this condition is almost 60 years, in our country is between 47 and 48 years of age.

The problem with this disease is aggravated by the fact that the majority of women affected by breast cancer are diagnosed at very advanced stages, which limits the options for medical treatment and decreases the survival time.

Some measures that can be carried out to control breast cancer are the periodic self-examinations and go to the doctor to identify early on the appearance of tumors in the mammary gland.

In addition, Dr. León Del Río pointed out that another alternative is the development of new strategies for early diagnosis, as well as that of biological markers that allow identifying women who have an increased risk of developing breast cancer throughout their lives.

It is essential to know how our body works to understand the disease, therefore, Universum seeks to make the public aware of the habits and lifestyles that can damage the body. Learn more about their activities at www.universum.unam.mx

Video Medicine: Innovations in Breast Cancer Research (April 2024).