Female tumours in Italy

Abstract

Female tumours (ie cancers of the female genital tract and breast) represent alone about 40% of new cases and 30% of cancer deaths in Italy (approximately 44,500 new cancer diagnoses and 17,800 deaths in 1991). An attempt to identify major issues in the primary and secondary prevention of these malignancies has disclosed several important points. Firstly, concerning epidemiology, excesses of mortality from cancers of the breast and ovaries exist in the northern part of Italy as compared to the centre and south, whereas mortality rates from uterine cancer are almost equally distributed. However, a tendency towards increasing similarity of various Italian regions emerges. Risk factors most amenable to intervention are overweight, contraceptive methods and dietary habits. Secondly, concerning screening, the number of mammograms (about 552) and the number of Pap smears taken every year (about 4 million) are approximately sufficient to provide a complete coverage of the target subset of the female population as concerns breast and cervical cancer screening. Still, on account of no one carrying out primary call procedures and checks, the actual situation is unsatisfactory. The present article, in addition to quantifying the present status of female cancer prevention in Italy, tries to define a framework for similar exercises in other European countries.