Gynecologic cancers, especially those of the uterus and ovaries, represent a major health, social and economic burden worldwide, both in wealthier and in limited-resource countries.
In middle- to low-income countries such as Mozambique, effective health policies for the prevention and care of such cancers have yet to be developed, and the data available is mostly incomplete and of poor quality.
The objective of this retrospective study was to trace the epidemiological profile of the cases of gynecologic cancer recorded from January 2010 through December 2014 in the Department of Pathology of the Beira Central Hospital in Mozambique.
43.4% of the anatomic pathology examinations performed on female patients in that time span were attributable to gynecologic cancers. The most widespread type was cervical cancer, which accounted for 86.7% of the total in 2013 and 93.3% in 2014. The high prevalence of this type of cancer, which is common in low-resource countries, points to both a lack of awareness among the population about the risk of developing the disease and the absence of primary and secondary preventive measures. Indeed, the high mortality rate from these diseases is linked both to people’s inability to access prevention and screening services and to the lack of effective treatment strategies. It is essential, therefore, that gynecologic cancer awareness-raising, prevention and treatment policies be implemented to help tackle this increasingly critical problem even in limited-resource countries like Mozambique.