Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

Regional inequalities in mortality from colorectal cancer and its indirect economic impact in Brazil from 2001 to 2030: a human capital approach study

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Linda SharpORCiD

Downloads


Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).


Abstract

© 2026 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND IGO license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo/. Background: Brazil contributes to 41% of colorectal cancer (CRC) deaths in Latin America. CRC is the second most incident cancer among males and females in Brazil, with wide regional variation. We aimed to estimate the years of potential life lost (YPLL) and the productivity lost due to mortality from CRC by region, between 2001 and 2030.MethodsWe estimated the indirect costs of mortality from CRC using the Human Capital Approach. Mortality data (2001–2016) were obtained from the national Mortality Information System. Economic data were obtained from the Continuous National Household Sample Survey. Productivity lost was calculated for those aged over 15. Results for 2016–2030 were estimated based on the observed data (2001–2015). Findings: We estimated 635,253 deaths from CRC between 2001 and 2030, corresponding to 12·6 million YPLL and Int$22·6 billion in productivity losses. From 2001–2005 (observed) to 2026–2030 (estimated), CRC deaths are expected to increase by 181% and 165% among males and females, respectively. The largest relative increases among males will be observed in the North region, with productivity losses increasing 9·7-fold. Among females, North and Northeast regions will experience the highest increases in productivity lost, 8·7 and 10·3-fold respectively. Interpretation: CRC productivity loss will increase substantially by 2030, primarily due to increasing incidence and mortality, as a consequence of the epidemiological transition and health services access, especially in the North and Northeast regions. Implementing primary prevention, screening, early diagnosis and ensuring timely access to treatment is essential to reduce the economic impact of CRC overall and reduce regional inequities. Funding: This study was funded by the MSD Independent Oncology Policy Grant Program.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Monteiro dos Santos JE, Pearce A, Migowski A, Bezerra de Souza DL, Soerjomataram I, Lopes de Souza LB, Sharp L, Leite Martins LF, Hanly P, De Camargo Cancela M

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: The Lancet Regional Health - Americas

Year: 2026

Volume: 55

Print publication date: 01/03/2026

Online publication date: 09/02/2026

Acceptance date: 15/01/2026

Date deposited: 15/04/2026

ISSN (electronic): 2667-193X

Publisher: Elsevier Ltd

URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2026.101383

DOI: 10.1016/j.lana.2026.101383

Data Access Statement: The data used in this study are available for download at: https://datasus.saude.gov.br/transferencia-de-arquivos/, https://sidra.ibge.gov.br/pesquisa/estimapop/tabelas and https://www.ibge.gov.br/estatisticas/sociais/trabalho/9171-pesquisa-nacional-por-amostra-de-domicilios-continua-mensal.html?=&t=microdados


Altmetrics

Altmetrics provided by Altmetric


Funding

Funder referenceFunder name
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Newcastle Patient Safety Research Collaboration
MSD Independent Oncology Policy Grant Program

Share