Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “BRAZIL”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Primary HIV-1 drug resistance in Brazil.

In this report we reviewed primary HIV-1 drug resistance in Brazil and compared it with that of other developed countries. An extensive survey was conducted in published studies on primary HIV-1 drug resistance in Brazil and in several developed countries in North America and Western Europe. Overall and genomic region-specific (protease or reverse transcriptase) rates were compared between countries and over time in some countries (whenever available) to detect their trend over time and in different groups of individuals (acutely or chronically infected patients). Brazil has shown primary drug resistance rates that were on average lower than in most developed countries analysed. There were no reports in Brazil showing the occurrence of multidrug-resistant HIV-1 strains circulating in drug-naive patients, in contrast to some countries. Rates of protease secondary mutations observed in Rio de Janeiro (the second largest city affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Brazil) did not show evidence of increase, but rather mutation-specific steady state equilibria. Despite the universal access to antiretroviral treatment in the country, rates of primary drug resistance are still low when compared with those of developed nations, arguing against the need for genotyping in patients before initiating therapy. The lower rates of primary drug resistance reported show that resistance should not be of concern in promoting expanded access to antiretroviral treatment in developing settings.

Brazil↗

Country-wide distribution of the nitrile female condom (FC2) in Brazil and South Africa: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness and potential impact of expanded female condom distribution. DESIGN: Cost-effectiveness analysis assessing HIV infections averted annually and incremental cost per HIV infection averted for country-wide distribution of the nitrile female condom (FC2) among sexually active individuals, 15-49 years, with access to publicly distributed condoms in Brazil and South Africa. RESULTS: In Brazil, expansion of FC2 distribution to 10% of current male condom use would avert an estimated 604 (5-95th percentiles, 412-831) HIV infections at 20,683 US dollars (5-95th percentiles, 13,497-29,521) per infection averted. In South Africa, 9577 (5-95th percentiles, 6539-13,270) infections could be averted, at 985 US dollars (5-95th percentiles, 633-1412) per infection averted. The estimated cost of treating one HIV-infected individual is 21,970 US dollars (5-95th percentiles, 18,369-25,719) in Brazil and 1503 US dollars (5-95th percentiles, 1245-1769) in South Africa, indicating potential cost savings. The incremental cost of expanded distribution would be reduced to 8930 US dollars (5-95th percentiles, 5864-13,163) per infection averted in Brazil and 374 US dollars (5-95th percentiles, 237-553) in South Africa by acquiring FC2s through a global purchasing mechanism and increasing distribution threefold. Sensitivity analyses show model estimates to be most sensitive to the estimated prevalence of sexually transmitted infections, total sexual activity, and fraction of FC2s properly used. CONCLUSIONS: Expanded distribution of FC2 in Brazil and South Africa could avert substantial numbers of HIV infections at little or no net cost to donor or government agencies. FC2 may be a useful and cost-effective supplement to the male condom for preventing HIV.

Adolescent↗

Characterization of a new circulating recombinant form comprising HIV-1 subtypes C and B in southern Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To identify a new circulating recombinant form (CRF) of HIV-1 comprising two circulating subtypes in the southern region in Brazil, subtypes B and C. METHODS: A total of 152 HIV-positive patients followed at two hospitals in southern Brazil had their viral pol genes isolated by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from plasma. PCR products were sequenced and phylogenetically analysed using HIV-1 subtype reference sequences. Six full-length subtype C viruses from Brazil previously described as 'pure' strains were included in the analysis. Sequences suggestive of recombination were analysed by boot scanning and phylogenetic analyses of separate fragments. The common ancestry of recombinant strains was evaluated by similarity plot and informative site analyses. RESULTS: : HIV-1 subtypes commonly found in Brazil (B, C and F1) were observed. Sixty-two viruses were initially assigned as subtype C, but 15 viruses clustered in a separate internal clade. Pol from two full-length genomes of subtype C viruses grouped together with those samples. Boot scanning analysis showed that all 17 viruses had the same recombinant structure, with a 240 base pair fragment of subtype B in the middle of the reverse transcriptase pol region. Subtype B assignment of this fragment was confirmed by phylogenetic analyses using different methods of tree inference and cluster robustness tests. Mosaics were shown to have a common ancestry. CONCLUSION: As CRF_BC represents 11% of the HIV-1 viruses circulating in the southern region of the country, which borders several south American countries, the assessment of its spread is of pivotal importance to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Brazil and Latin America.

Base Sequence↗

Comparison of clinical significance and allergenic cross-reactivity of storage mites Blomia kulagini and Lepidoglyphus destructor in Sweden and Brazil.

Comparison of the clinical significance and allergenic cross-reactivity of Blomia kulagini (B. kulagini) and Lepidoglyphus destructor (L. destructor) was made on sera from Sweden and Brazil using the radio-allergo-sorbent test (RAST) and the RAST inhibition technique. RAST-positive sera were obtained from 53 allergic Swedish farmers and 31 allergic subjects from Brazil who were positive to B. kulagini and/or L. destructor. B. kulagini was shown to be a common cause of sensitization especially in Brazil. There was a fairly high correlation between positive RAST results to L. destructor and B. kulagini based on sera from both Sweden and Brazil. The highest RAST scores were found against L. destructor in Swedish sera and against B. kulagini in Brazilian sera. The RAST inhibition studies showed that the L. destructor extract was able to inhibit the B. kulagini system (a positive RAST to B. kulagini allergen disc) in Swedish but not in Brazilian sera. In contrast, the B. kulagini extract was only able to inhibit the L. destructor system in sera from Brazil and not in sera from Sweden. This study shows that results obtained with RAST inhibition are not entirely dependent on the overall specificity of the IgE antibodies in the patient's sera, since the more subtle specificity of the primarily sensitizing allergen will dominate. Thus, conclusions drawn regarding allergenic cross-reactivity are dependent on the populations tested, and conclusions on the existence or absence of cross-reactivity, e.g. between two species of mites may be contradictory.

Adolescent↗

Tackling drug and alcohol misuse in Brazil: priorities and challenges for nurses.

AIMS: To provide an overview of the extent of drug and alcohol misuse in Brazil and the policies and approaches in tackling substance misuse. An examination of the challenges facing the nursing profession in working with substance misusers is presented. BACKGROUND: Alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis are the most commonly misused psychoactive substances in Brazil. One of the biggest public health problems is the interface between the misuse of psychoactive substances and HIV prevalence and other sexually transmitted diseases. Findings from a recent study suggest that undergraduate nurses in Brazil are not adequately prepared in the care and management of substance misuse problems. The nursing profession in Brazil faces numerous challenges in the development of professional competence of nurses in this field. CONCLUSION: A strategy proposed is the creation of regional centres in Brazil to study the integration of substance use and misuse in the nursing undergraduate curriculum and the giving of specific support in teaching and research to nurse teachers. Nurses have a key role to play in the early recognition, assessment, prevention, and treatment of substance misuse.

Brazil↗

End-stage renal disease in Brazil: epidemiology, prevention, and treatment.

Brazil is one of the largest and most populous nations in the world, ranking among the 5 largest economies in the Americas and among the 15 largest economies in the world. However, Brazil is still plagued by social problems such as the persistence of poverty and immense deficiencies in its health system. Currently, there are approximately 390 patients on chronic renal replacement therapy (RRT) per million population, about one third the US prevalence, which suggests that end-stage renal disease is either underdiagnosed or undertreated. The epidemiology of renal disease in the small remaining native Brazilian population is largely unknown. However, it is likely that the prevalence of renal disease is low among at least 2 tribes: the Yanomamis in northern Brazil and the Xingu Indians in central Brazil. Sodium intake is very low, physical activity is intense, and the prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease is negligible among these people, which stresses the potential pathogenic importance of so-called civilized habits. There is currently no conclusive evidence that African descendants or any other Brazilian ethnic minorities are especially vulnerable to renal disease. Access to RRT in Brazil is universal. However, because both the end-stage renal disease population and operational RRT costs are steadily increasing, the system may face severe limitations in the near future. Much effort is needed to limit the prevalence of renal disease, to detain or retard the progression of chronic nephropathies, and to ensure that high-quality RRT will remain available to all those who need it.

Brazil↗

Charcot and Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the relationship between Professor Charcot and Brazil. BACKGROUND: During the XIX century, French Neurology and its most prominent figure, Professor Charcot, dominated the area of nervous system diseases in the world. METHOD: We have reviewed some of the main publications about Charcot's life, the biography of Dom Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil and the development of Neurology in Brazil. RESULTS: Among the most important patients in Charcot's practice was the Emperor of Brazil. Dom Pedro II became a close friend of Charcot and he was a distinguished guest at Charcot's house, particularly at Tuesday soirées on boulevard St. Germain. In 1887, during the visit of Dom Pedro II to France, Charcot evaluated him and made the diagnosis of surmenage. In 1889, Dom Pedro II was disposed and went to Paris, where he lived until his death in 1891. Charcot signed the death certificate and gave the diagnosis of pneumonitis. Charcot had a passionate affection for animals, a feeling shared by Dom Pedro II. Dom Pedro II was affiliated to the French Society for the Protection of Animals. It is conceivable that Charcot's little monkey, from South America, was given to him by Dom Pedro II. The Brazilian Neurological School was founded by Professor A. Austregésilo in 1911, in Rio de Janeiro. At the time, of Charcot's death in 1893, his influence was still very important in the whole world. He and his pupils played a major role in the development of Brazilian Neurology. CONCLUSION: Professor Charcot had a close relationship with the Emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro II. He was his private physician and they were close friends. The neurological school, created by professor Charcot, contributed significantly, albeit in an indirect way, to the development of Brazilian Neurology, starting in 1911, in Rio de Janeiro, by Professor A. Austregésilo.

Brazil↗

Translation, adaptation and validation of the Roland-Morris questionnaire--Brazil Roland-Morris.

The purpose of the present study was to translate the Roland-Morris (RM) questionnaire into Brazilian-Portuguese and adapt and validate it. First 3 English teachers independently translated the original questionnaire into Brazilian-Portuguese and a consensus version was generated. Later, 3 other translators, blind to the original questionnaire, performed a back translation. This version was then compared with the original English questionnaire. Discrepancies were discussed and solved by a panel of 3 rheumatologists and the final Brazilian version was established (Brazil-RM). This version was then pretested on 30 chronic low back pain patients consecutively selected from the spine disorders outpatient clinic. In addition to the traditional clinical outcome measures, the Brazil-RM, a 6-point pain scale (from no pain to unbearable pain), and its numerical pain rating scale (PS) (0 to 5) and a visual analog scale (VAS) (0 to 10) were administered twice by one interviewer (1 week apart) and once by one independent interviewer. Spearman's correlation coefficient (SCC) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were computed to assess test-retest and interobserver reliability. Cross-sectional construct validity was evaluated using the SCC. In the pretesting session, all questions were well understood by the patients. The mean time of questionnaire administration was 4 min and 53 s. The SCC and ICC were 0.88 (P<0.01) and 0.94, respectively, for the test-retest reliability and 0.86 (P<0.01) and 0.95, respectively, for interobserver reliability. The correlation coefficient was 0.80 (P<0.01) between the PS and Brazil-RM score and 0.79 (P<0.01) between the VAS and Brazil-RM score. We conclude that the Brazil-RM was successfully translated and adapted for application to Brazilian patients, with satisfactory reliability and cross-sectional construct validity.

Brazil↗

[Indicators of the effectiveness of epidemiological surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis in Brazil from 1990 through 2000].

OBJECTIVES: To describe and compare indicators of the quality of epidemiological surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) before Brazil's certification as a poliomyelitis-free area (1990 through 1994) and after that certification (1995 through 2000). METHODS: The following variables were studied: minimum prevalence (reporting annually at least 1 case of AFP per 100 000 individuals younger than 15 years), negative reporting (weekly reporting of the absence of AFP cases by at least 80% of the reporting units in each region), time of investigation (investigating at least 80% of the AFP cases within 48 hours of their being reported), and diagnostic investigation (collection of two stool samples for viral culture in the 2 weeks following the onset of paralysis in 80% or more of the AFP cases). The results were categorized as adequate if they were equal to or higher than the value considered as being effective, or as inadequate if they were below this value. The percentage rate of adequate values was calculated for each of Brazil's 27 federal political divisions (26 states plus the Federal District) in each year, for each of the two periods studied. The final means per period, per federal political division, and per region were also calculated. RESULTS: For Brazil overall, minimum prevalence decreased from 1.3 per 100 000 individuals younger than 15 years in the precertification period to 0.9 per 100 000 in the postcertification period, but the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.08). While negative reporting was adequate in both periods (87% and 84%, respectively), the percentage rate of effectiveness was 6.6% lower in the postcertification period (P > 0.21). The effectiveness in the time required to investigate AFP cases increased from 60.7% to 71.6% (P > 0.06). The collection of stool samples was inadequate both before and after certification (54% and 52%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the absence of indigenous wild virus poliomyelitis cases in Brazil in the postcertification period, the quality of epidemiological surveillance indicators is still less than desirable. This may delay the detection and investigation of AFP cases and compromise the global poliomyelitis eradication effort. New information strategies that are being made available for the health system in Brazil may improve the effectiveness of the national poliomyelitis control program.

Acute Disease↗

Highly active antiretroviral therapy in Brazil: the challenge of universal access in a context of social inequality.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate trends in AIDS mortality and incidence in Brazil over the period of 1984 to 2000 and to assess the impact of the introduction of universal access to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in the country in 1996. METHODS: Data from the Brazilian disease notification system and the national mortality information system were used to calculate annual region-specific and sex-specific AIDS incidence and mortality rates. We also calculated sex- and region-specific ratios of the number of AIDS deaths in one year to the number of AIDS cases notified two years earlier. RESULTS: AIDS mortality rates for both men and women and in all five of the geographic regions of Brazil declined following introduction of HAART, despite continued growth in AIDS incidence. The ratio of the number of AIDS deaths in one year to the number of AIDS cases notified two years earlier for men equalized rapidly with the ratio for women following introduction of HAART. More recently, AIDS incidence declined for both sexes and in most of the regions of Brazil. CONCLUSIONS: Despite Brazil's resource limitations and disparities in wealth between men and women and among the country's regions, the introduction of universal access to HAART in Brazil has helped achieve impressive declines in AIDS mortality, and it may also be contributing to declines in AIDS incidence.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Mortality from oral and pharyngeal cancer in Brazil: trends and regional patterns, 1979-2002.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the trends and regional patterns in mortality from oral cancer and pharyngeal cancer in Brazil from 1979 through 2002. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Mortality Information System (Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade) database, which is compiled by the Ministry of Health of Brazil. Mortality rates were adjusted by gender and age. The Prais-Winsten generalized linear regression procedure was used to calculate the annual increase or decrease in mortality rates. The time trends for mortality due to oral cancer and to pharyngeal cancer were analyzed by specific anatomical site and by region of the country (North, Northeast, South, Southeast, and Center-West). RESULTS: In all five regions of Brazil over the period studied, oral cancer mortality remained stable for both genders, but pharyngeal cancer mortality increased for both genders. Mortality from cancer affecting the lips, tongue, gums, mouth floor, palate, other parts of the mouth, and tonsils showed a statistically significant decrease over the period. However, mortality from cancer affecting the oropharynx, hypopharynx, and ill-defined and undefined sites of the oral cavity and the pharynx showed a significant increase. Mortality rates for both oral cancer and pharyngeal cancer were higher in the South and Southeast regions of the country than in Brazil's three other regions. CONCLUSIONS: The relatively larger decrease in mortality from cancer affecting the lips, gums, and other anatomical sites more easily accessible to clinical inspection suggests a possible link between oral and pharyngeal cancer survival and an improved provision of health care services in Brazil in recent decades.

Brazil↗

Epidemiological aspects of rotavirus infections in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

In order to develop good polices regarding public health measures and vaccine use to prevent rotavirus induced gastroenteritis, the epidemiology of the illness in various regions of Brazil is necessary. Accordingly, this study was to detect the frequency and types of rotavirus in one city in a tropical part of Brazil. This is an epidemiological survey of pediatric gastroenteritis caused by rotavirus conducted in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. We analyzed 656 in-patient (190) and out-patient (466) stool samples from children ages 0 to 5 years during 1998. Rotavirus detection was performed using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Rotavirus was isolated from 62/190 stool samples (32.6%) from hospitalized children and 16/466 (3.4%) from out-patients. The overall rotavirus frequency in this population was 11.9%. The highest rotavirus detection was found in hospitalized children ages 6 to 24 months. Rotaviruses were detected from March to September, with a peak incidence in June (33.3%), the coldest and driest month in the region. Electrophoretic analysis identified 10 different profiles, all long and compatible with group A rotavirus, termed L(A) through LJ. The L(B) and L(D) profiles circulated throughout most of the study period. However, in June, when the highest detection rate occurred, the vast majority (92.5%) of the positive samples displayed the L(B) profile, thus suggesting an outbreak caused by this rotavirus profile. Rotavirus induced gastroenteritis is common in one tropical region of Brazil, it is an important cause of diarrhea in hospitalized children ages 6 to 24 months, it is most common during dry, cold months of the year, and it may occur in electrophoretype restricted epidemics. Such analyses throughout Brazil will assist in developing sound guidelines regarding its prevention.

Age Distribution↗

Occupational health and safety in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Brazil is the world's fifth largest and sixth most populous nation. Its economy is varied, with strong manufacturing, agriculture, mining, and service sectors. Therefore, a wide variety of workplace hazards confronts its work force. This paper describes Brazil's occupational safety and health regulatory scheme, workers' compensation system, plant-level practices, training, and data collection. METHODS: We reviewed and analyzed Brazilian regulatory legislation and government and non-governmental organization (NGO) activity in occupational safety and health, as well as the structure and function of the workers' compensation system. We also reviewed available data on injuries and diseases from major sources, including the now-defunct Instituto Nacional do Previdencia Social (INPS) and the workers' compensation scheme, Seguro de Acidente de Trabalho (SAT). RESULTS: The incidence of workplace injuries has decreased in recent years and is now reported to be about 5 per 100 workers per year. The case fatality rate has been constant at about 5 fatalities per 1000 injuries. Less than 6% of reported injuries are classified as "diseases." Brazil's rates are comparable to those of Mexico and Zimbabwe, and two to four times higher than in most industrialized countries. CONCLUSIONS: Brazil has a high incidence of occupational injuries and diseases; these injuries and diseases are underreported; there is a large informal sector at special risk; and Brazil illustrates the disparity that exists in many countries between legislation on the books and legislation that is actually implemented.

Accidents, Occupational↗

Children in the streets of Brazil: drug use, crime, violence, and HIV risks.

The presence of vast numbers of unsupervised and unprotected children is a phenomenon that is common throughout Latin America, and in few places are the street children more visible, and reviled, than in Brazil. Estimates of their numbers in Brazil have ranged from 7 to 17 million, but more informed assessments suggest that between 7 and 8 million children, ages 5 to 18, live and/or work on the streets of urban Brazil. Accounts of drug misuse among street youths in Brazil are commonplace. Numerous scientific studies and media stories have reported the widespread use of inhalants, marijuana and cocaine, and Valium among street children. Also common is the use of coca paste and Rohypnol. Risk of exposure to HIV is rapidly becoming an area of concern because of the large number of street youths engaging in unprotected sexual acts, both renumerated and nonrenumerated. Moreover, Brazil's street children are targets of fear. Because of their drug use, predatory crimes, and general unacceptability on urban thoroughfares, they are frequently the targets of local vigilante groups, drug gangs, and police "death squads." Although there have been many proposals and programs for addressing the problems of Brazilian street youth, it would appear that only minimal headway has been achieved.

Adolescent↗

Diversity in the immunodominant determinants of the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum parasites from malaria-endemic regions of Papua New Guinea and Brazil.

To determine the nature and extent of variation in the T cell sites of the Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite (CS) protein, a candidate antigen in the development of a malaria vaccine, we cloned and sequenced 69 recombinant clones of the CS protein gene representing 18 and 17 P. falciparum isolates from infected individuals from Madang, Papua New Guinea (PNG), a holoendemic malaria region, and Paragaminos and Jacunda, Brazil, relatively low endemic regions, respectively. As previously known, the amino acid sequence polymorphism was restricted to the three immunodominant regions of the protein, Th1R-N1, Th2R, and Th3R. While some of the observed nonsilent mutations in the T cell determinants of the CS protein were similar to those previously identified, we have found new amino acid changes in each of the polymorphic sequences in parasites from PNG and Brazil. A comparison of the CS epitope sequences of parasites from PNG and Brazil with the previously known CS epitope sequences of parasites from Brazil and The Gambia showed the following: 1) polymorphism was found in the Th1R-N1, Th2R, and Th3R region; however, while amino acid substitutions in the Th1R-N1 and Th2R region tended to be conservative, the substitutions found in the Th3R region were not, suggesting that the Th3R epitope may be rapidly evolving to allow parasites to escape host antiparasite cytotoxic T cell-enforced immune responses, and 2) the CS proteins of P. falciparum from high malaria-transmission regions (PNG and The Gambia) appear more polymorphic than the CS proteins of parasites from relatively low malaria-endemic regions in Brazil, where P. falciparum infection has been recently established.

Adolescent↗

Lewis W. Hackett and the early years of the International Health Board's Yellow Fever Program in Brazil, 1917-1924.

Lewis W. Hackett joined the staff of the International Health Board (IHB) in 1914. He was sent to Brazil in 1916, where his original responsibility was hookworm control, but he was gradually and inevitably drawn into combating other diseases. Hackett had a strong influence on public health in Brazil. In 1922 he instituted grass-roots (local) health units and programs. The next year, he negotiated with the federal government a cooperative yellow fever control program, which was described in the IHB's 1923 annual report as the "new and final campaign against yellow fever" in Brazil. Eleven offices were established in northern Brazil, where it was expected that yellow fever would quickly be eradicated. Just as the new program got underway Hackett was reassigned to Italy, where he remained until the beginning of World War II. Nonetheless, Hackett had done a classic job of developing the IHB program in Brazil, moving carefully but authoritatively from the initial focus on hookworm, to the development of a more comprehensive public health program, and then to the strategic thrust toward yellow fever.

Ancylostomiasis↗

Production and characterization of clones of the Brazil strain of Trypanosoma cruzi.

Six clones and 4 subclones were isolated from the Brazil strain of Trypanosoma cruzi and were passaged in C3H(He) mice. Parasitemia levels and survival times of mice infected with 8 of the isolates were equivalent to the Brazil strain in virulence. Two clones, designated WFTc-5.1 and WFTc-6.1 (WFTc = Wake Forest Trypanosoma cruzi) were of lower virulence in C3H mice than the other isolates and the Brazil strain. C57BL/6 mice infected with WFTc-5.1 had significantly lower parasitemias and higher survival rates than C57BL/6 mice infected with the Brazil strain or a clone designated WFTc-3.2. Levels of anti-T. cruzi IgM and IgG antibodies were the same in mice infected with higher virulence or lower virulence isolates. Based on these results the Brazil strain of T. cruzi is composed of distinct subpopulations which are heterogeneous with respect to virulence.

Animals↗

[Stomach cancer mortality in Brazil: from 1977 to 1989]

Both incidence and mortality of stomach cancer have been declining in most of the world in the last decades. However, this phenomenon has not been studied in Brazil. Although data on incidence rates are insufficient, there is a standardized historical series on mortality data beginning in 1977. This study analyzes trends for stomach cancer mortality during the 1977-1989 period for Brazil and Brazilian State capitals, using the standardized mortality rates of stomach cancer (standardized population: Brazil-1980). The results showed that mortality rates have been decreasing in Brazil as a whole and nearly all of the State capitals. However, differences in mortality-rate trends appeared when patterns and location of death were analyzed. The decline was most evident in the Southeast, South, and Center-West, similar to that of European countries. Although stomach cancer is still an important cause of fatal cancer (particularly in males), stomach cancer mortality is currently less important than lung and breast cancer mortality in these regions. Unfortunately, we lack historical incidence series to compare with mortality data to determine whether they reflect actual trends in the incidence of stomach cancer in Brazil.

Journal Article↗