Ovarian Cancer Age-Adjusted Mortality Rates in Chile During 2002-2019

OBJECTIVES: Ovarian cancer (OC) has been guaranteed diagnosis and treatment by Explicit Health Guarantees (GES) in Chile since 2013. Due to that, it is important to understand mortality profile. We analyzed it to identify the most affected age groups and Chilean regions.

METHODS: 2002-2019 OC mortality data (ICD-10 C56, C57.0, C48.1, C48.2, regardless of histological type) were extracted from Department of Health Statistics and Information, and population projection from National Statistics Institute. Age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMR) per 100,000 inhabitants were estimated using the direct method, using 2022 population as reference, at the national level and at 7 most populous Chilean regions. Four age groups were defined: premenopausal (15-49), postmenopausal (50-64), 3rd age (65-79) and 4th age (80+) women. Evaluations were made for the entire period and by 2002-2013 (pre-GES) and 2014-2019 (post-GES) and assessed qualitative.

RESULTS: Most of the 7,664 OC deaths were in postmenopausal women (35%) and 3rd age (35%). Nationally, there was a 3% change in the mean AAMR (pre-GES: 5.93 vs. post-GES: 5.75). The Metropolitan Region presented mean change of 8% (postmenopausal: pre-GES: 1.92 vs post-GES 1.78) and 5% (3^rd age: pre-GES: 2.17 vs post-GES 2.07), where AAMR slowly decreased in the recent years (2016-2019: 1.9, 1.8, 1.8, 1.6). Only O’Higgins Region presented a rising AAMR in recent years (2015-2019) in both postmenopausal (2015-2019: 0.8, 1.7, 1.6, 1.8, 2.9) and 3^rd age group (2017-2019: 1.6, 1.7, 2.5). La Araucanía Region also presented increasing rates, but only in the 3^rd age group (2015-2019: 1.3, 1.6, 2.7, 3.3, 3.5).

CONCLUSIONS: OC mortality was higher in postmenopausal and 3rd age women. Nationally, the mean AAMR have decreased after GES implementation, although in certain regions there was an increase, which may have been influenced by different regional GES implementation practices.