Early diagnosis of cancer is not always simple; understand with Dr. Kalil

Family history and the silent nature of cancer are among the main factors that make early diagnosis of the disease difficult. Experts warn that the greater the number of relatives affected by a certain type of cancer, the greater the individual risk - and the more necessary screening becomes.

In a debate on the CNN Sinais Vitais program, ICESP clinical oncologist, Maria Ignez Braghiroli, highlighted the relevance of family history, especially in the case of pancreatic cancer. "The greater the number of family members who have pancreatic cancer, the greater the risk," he said.

She explained that, as it is not as common a tumor as those of the intestine, breast or lung, specific screening recommendations are more difficult to establish, but the correlation with family history increases the risks.

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Silent and long-lasting disease
Next, Paulo Hoff, professor of Oncology at FMUSP, explained that cancer, in general, is a disease that has already evolved considerably by the time it is detected. "A one-centimeter tumor already has a billion cells," he said.

According to him, the process that goes from transforming a normal cell into a cancerous one until identifying the tumor can take from one to fifteen years, depending on the type. "When we detect the tumor, it already has a very high viability. This is one of the difficulties", he added, explaining that the wide variety of cellular subtypes present in an already developed tumor complicates treatment.

Maria Ignez reinforced that the time for diagnosis is directly related to the stage of the disease. When treatment occurs in a localized phase, the chances of a cure are greater and the need for complementary interventions is less. In advanced stages, surgery is often no longer the first option, giving way to systemic treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which can become chronic.

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Prevention and screening as ways to reduce mortality
Paulo Hoff cited data from the United States to illustrate the impact of prevention. According to him, since 1990, cancer mortality in the country has consistently fallen by 2% per year, even with the increase in incidence - which today exceeds 2 million cases annually. "What helped the drop in mortality the most is that Americans invested a lot in prevention and screening," he said.

He highlighted that, while in the United States a person diagnosed with cancer has a 70% chance of being cured, in Brazil this rate is approximately 60%, and that this difference can be reduced with accessible measures.

Among the cultural changes needed in Brazil, Paulo Hoff highlighted the practice of physical exercise, improved diet - with more fruits and vegetables and reduced consumption of ultra-processed foods -, vaccination and, above all, the willingness to seek diagnosis without fear.

"You still see patients who suspected they had something a year ago, but were afraid to visit the doctor. If it's cancer, the sooner you diagnose it, the greater your chance of a cure," warned Hoff.

Maria Ignez reinforced that many preventive actions are within everyone's reach in everyday life. "We sometimes look for miraculous alternatives, but much of what we can do is in our daily lives, in our small attitudes", he said, citing changes in physical activity habits, diet and the search for tracking as measures with a tremendous impact.

The texts generated by artificial intelligence on CNN Brasil are made based on video cuts from the newspapers in its programming. All information is investigated and checked by journalists. The final text is also reviewed by the CNN journalism team. Click here to find out more.

Source: CNN