Breast cancer mortality gaps in Romanian women compared to the EU after 10 years of accession: Is breast cancer screening a priority for action in Romania? (Review of the Statistics)

Furtunescu,Florentina; Bohiltea,Roxana Elena; Voinea,Silviu; Georgescu,Tiberiu Augustin; Munteanu,Octavian; Neacsu,Adrian; Pop,Corina Silvia

doi:10.3892/etm.2021.9699

Breast cancer mortality gaps in Romanian women compared to the EU after 10 years of accession: Is breast cancer screening a priority for action in Romania? (Review of the Statistics)

Authors:
- Florentina Furtunescu
- Roxana Elena Bohiltea
- Silviu Voinea
- Tiberiu Augustin Georgescu
- Octavian Munteanu
- Adrian Neacsu
- Corina Silvia Pop
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Affiliations: Department of Public Health and Management, Faculty of Medicine, ‘Carol Davila’ University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050463 Bucharest, Romania, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, ‘Carol Davila’ University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania, Department of Surgery, ‘Carol Davila’ University of Medicine and Pharmacy, ‘Prof. Dr. Alexandru Trestioreanu Oncology Institute’, 050474 Bucharest, Romania, Department of Pathology, ‘Carol Davila’ University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Emergency Hospital Bucharest, 050098 Bucharest, Romania, Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, ‘Carol Davila’ University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania
Published online on: January 25, 2021 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.9699
Article Number: 268

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Abstract

Breast cancer remains the most common cause of morbidity and mortality by cancer in females worldwide, even though it is largely preventable through population screening. Despite notable progress in the last years in the EU, breast cancer screening programs still maintain wide variations among countries and socio‑economic groups. This statistical review aimed to investigate the breast cancer‑related health gaps in Romanian women compared to the average EU female population after 10 years of accession (2007‑2016). We evaluated breast cancer‑related deaths, age‑standardized mortality rates and contribution of breast cancer to life expectancy. Trends and percentage changes were compared between Romania and EU‑27 for breast cancer, all cancer and all causes of mortality. We found a higher increase of breast cancer deaths in Romania, an increasing trend of mortality (opposite to EU) and a contribution to life expectancy at birth that increased gradually from 0.45 to 0 48 years. All these health gaps compared to EU are aggravated by the fact that no population screening for breast cancer is organized in the country. The opportunities for organizing such a program are consistent, but they should be increased in the future, in order to control the health gap between Romania and EU.

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