Health Care Accessibility and Breast Cancer Mortality in Europe

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cause of death, due to malignant neoplasms in women worldwide. The nature of the symptoms associated with breast cancer depends on the stage of the disease. In this case, any cancerous changes in the initial phase of the disease can only be detected during imaging tests. Participation in mammography screening can reduce breast cancer mortality by up to 40%, if only 70% of the eligible population participates in preventive programs. The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of accessibility to health care resources on breast cancer mortality. Methods: Eurostat aggregated health care data was extracted. Hierarchical cluster analysis of average breast cancer mortality identified four groups of countries with similar mortality rates and trends. The data was then analyzed, in terms of access to health care. Results: It was observed that the higher the financial expenditure on health care and the better the health care accessibility, the lower the mortality rates of breast cancer. Conclusions: There are examples indicating that the studied elements are not the only factors affecting the improvement of population health. The authors would like to emphasize the need to influence lifestyle factors, direct cancer risk, and introduce a multidisciplinary approach to breast cancer prevention.