On February 4, 2026, World Cancer Day, Ecuador's National Assembly passed a comprehensive cancer law, establishing patient rights and national treatment guarantees.1 It was a rare moment of political optimism in a region where data suggests the true challenge is only just beginning.

The same week, Peru announced that cancer had become its leading cause of death, claiming approximately 41,000 lives in 2025, a 33% increase from 2019.2 The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned that 83% of all cervical cancer deaths in the Americas occur in Latin America and the Caribbean.3 And from Haiti, data confirmed that roughly two-thirds of cancer diagnoses result in death.4

Some Numbers on the Cancer Burden in LAC

Our region recorded 1.55 million new cancer cases and 749,000 deaths in 2022, an age-standardized mortality rate of 85.2 per 100,000.5 Prostate and breast cancer lead in incidence, followed by colorectal, lung, and stomach cancers. But it is cervical cancer, with 63,000 cases annually, that most distinctly marks LAC's cancer profile. A disease largely eliminated in high-income countries remains one of the leading causes of cancer death among women in Bolivia, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, and Peru.3 Bolivia's cervical cancer incidence of 36.6 per 100,000 is seven times Canada's.6

What makes our challenge distinctive is the double burden. Infection-related cancers that wealthy nations have largely conquered, such as cervical cancer from HPV, gastric cancer from H. pylori (a stomach bacterium endemic in the Andes), and liver cancer from hepatitis viruses in Central America, persist at high levels. At the same time, the cancers that come with modernization and aging populations are showing rising death rates: colorectal cancer at 2.5% annually, female lung cancer at 1.88% per year.6 Our region is fighting two cancer epidemics simultaneously.

And the burden is accelerating. By 2040, our region will see a 67% increase in cancer cases, reaching 2.4 million annually, driven not by rising age-adjusted rates but by population aging and growth.7 Central America faces the steepest climb at 70%; the Caribbean a still-substantial 47%.7 The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) projects that health spending in the region will double by 2050, with cancer spending growing 1.5 to 4% above average, making it the fastest-growing budget component.8

The Regional Burden: How Cancer Varies Across Our Countries

These national averages, however, mask enormous variation between our countries. The Caribbean stands out. Several of the highest cancer mortality countries in LAC are Caribbean nations.5 This is not simply a wealth story: Barbados is a high-income country, and Trinidad and Tobago an upper-middle income one, yet their mortality rates reach 113.3 and 96.8 per 100,000, respectively.5 The pattern reflects aging demographics, limited treatment infrastructure, and a distinctive cancer profile: nine of the fifteen countries worldwide with the highest prostate cancer incidence are in the Caribbean, a pattern linked partly to African-descent genetic factors and dietary influences.9

Uruguay carries the region's heaviest burden: the highest cancer mortality in LAC at 128.25 per 100,000, well above any other country.5 High tobacco use and an aging population are likely drivers.6 At the other end, Central American countries like El Salvador (64.7) and Belize (59.9) cluster low, but this reflects younger population structures more than superior care.5

Colombia is the surprise. At 81.4 deaths per 100,000, it has one of the lowest mortality rates despite being a large middle-income country with persistent inequality.5 Several factors converge: a mandatory insurance system (the Sistema General de Seguridad Social en Salud, SGSSS) covering both formal workers and the poor, the tutela legal mechanism that allows patients to file fast-tracked injunctions for treatment access, and one of the developing world's most comprehensive cancer tracking systems, the Cuenta de Alto Costo (High-Cost Account), which monitors 782,868 cancer cases.10

The variation is concrete at the disease level too. In Costa Rica, roughly two in three gastric cancer patients die; in neighboring Honduras, it is closer to nine in ten.11

Mapped across the entire region, the pattern is unmistakable. The darkest countries cluster in two places: the Caribbean islands and the Southern Cone, for entirely different reasons. In the Caribbean, limited treatment infrastructure and aging populations drive high mortality even in upper-middle-income nations. In the Southern Cone, the high incidence of tobacco use, dietary factors, and its older population profile overwhelm systems that otherwise perform reasonably well.

Mortality rates tell us how heavy the burden is. They do not tell us how well our health systems respond to it. Consider this: our region's age-standardized cancer incidence (how many new cases are diagnosed in a given year) of 186.6 per 100,000 is roughly half that of North America. Yet our mortality rate is nearly identical.5 Fewer people get cancer in our countries, but a far higher proportion of them die. The gap is not in getting cancer. It is in what happens afterward.

One way to quantify that gap is the mortality-to-incidence (M:I) ratio, which divides the number of cancer deaths by the number of new diagnoses. It serves as a proxy for how effectively a health system converts diagnosis into survival. A ratio close to zero means most patients survive (the system catches and treats cancer well); a ratio close to one means nearly every diagnosis ends in death (the system is failing its patients). For context, the United States has an M:I ratio of 0.22, meaning roughly one in five cancer patients dies. Across our region, the ratio ranges from 0.42 in Costa Rica and Panama to 0.65 in Haiti, representing approximately a 1.5-fold difference.5 Every LAC country exceeds the US benchmark.

The M:I ratio is imperfect. Countries with incomplete cancer registries may undercount new cases, artificially inflating their ratios, and countries whose cancer mix skews toward more lethal tumor types will show worse ratios regardless of system quality. But the pattern is too consistent to dismiss.

The chart reveals a paradox worth pausing on. Uruguay has one of the region's best M:I ratios (0.46), meaning its health system converts diagnosis into survival relatively well. Yet, as we saw, it also has the highest age-standardized mortality rate in LAC, at 128.25 per 100,000.5 So many Uruguayans develop cancer that even an efficient system cannot prevent high total deaths. The M:I ratio measures system performance; the mortality rate measures population burden. Both matter, but they tell different stories.

And the most instructive lessons come not from copying the region's wealthiest systems, but from understanding how countries at every income level have found ways to close specific gaps.

The Screening Gap: Who Gets Caught Early, Who Doesn't

Early detection is the single biggest determinant of cancer survival in our region. Across LAC, 41% of breast cancers are diagnosed at stages III or IV, compared to less than 10% in Sweden.12 In Peru, Colombia, and Mexico, half of all breast cancers are found at advanced stages.12 Within Colombia, the insurers who cover workers and their families diagnoses 59.3% of breast cancers early, while the insurers covering the subsidized population manage just 19.7%, a three-to-one disparity within the same country.12

This failure to catch tumors early extends to highly preventable diseases as well. Cervical cancer screening coverage spans from 7% in Haiti to 92% in Saint Lucia.13 Only 10 of 34 LAC countries meet the WHO's 70% screening coverage target.14

But those headline numbers conceal a deeper crisis. In Haiti, 90% of women aged 30 to 49 have never been screened for cervical cancer. In Guyana, 78%. In Brazil, the region's largest country, 42%.13 These are not women who were screened and lost to follow-up; they have never entered the system at all. This lifetime gap is the true emergency.

For decades, our health systems relied on opportunistic annual Pap smears, a model that over-screened privileged urban women who happened to visit clinics while missing the most vulnerable populations entirely. Peru illustrates the pattern: only 16% of women were screened in the past year, yet 75% were screened in the past five years.13 That widespread reflects opportunistic screening without organized recall, not a program that "reached women once and lost them." Ironically, Peru's interval now aligns with modern WHO guidelines for HPV DNA testing (every 5-10 years), but in 2019, this was the Pap-era baseline, not an intentional policy.

The region is now pivoting: Brazil has mandated HPV DNA testing in its public system, and countries from Antigua and Barbuda to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are rolling out self-sampling kits.15,14,16 Screening remains the most actionable lever our region has; it can be scaled with existing health workers, community outreach, and low-cost HPV DNA tests. Every woman brought into screening for the first time moves the needle.

But perhaps the most dramatic variation is in HPV vaccination. In 2019, Costa Rica led the region at 98% first-dose coverage of its primary target cohort, followed by Chile at 94% and St. Kitts and Nevis at 90%, all exceeding the WHO's 90% elimination target.17,18 At the other end, the Dominican Republic sat at 10%, Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines at 11%, and Jamaica at 23%.18 That is roughly a 10-fold gap between countries in the same region. The COVID-19 pandemic further widened it: coverage across the Americas declined from 68% in 2019 to 51% in 2021, and recovery remains incomplete.19 Some countries have since surged past pre-pandemic levels (Peru climbed from 67% in 2019 to 97% by 2024), while others collapsed entirely (Grenada fell from 74% to 5%).18

Placed side by side, the two prevention pillars tell a surprising story. Screening and vaccination do not move together. In 2019, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines achieved 89% cervical screening coverage but only 11% HPV vaccination coverage. The Dominican Republic reached 79% screening but just 10% vaccination. Chile managed 94% vaccination but just 46% screening. Brazil had 77% vaccination, yet only 34% screening.13,18 These are two entirely separate policy challenges requiring different interventions, different delivery platforms, and different political commitments.

Jamaica's situation encapsulates the crisis. With 26% cervical screening coverage and just 23% HPV vaccination in 2019 (falling to 7% by 2024), combined with one of the highest cancer mortality rates in LAC at 116.6 per 100,000, the country is in urgent need of stronger interventions to prevent cancer cases.5,13,18

Treatment Infrastructure: Capacity, Workforce, and Access Gaps

Even when cancer is detected, the next challenge is whether patients can access treatment. Across LAC, the answer is often no.

As of 2023, our region needed an estimated 668 additional radiotherapy units and 2,455 by 2030 to meet projected demand.20 Of 33 countries, 25 fall below the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) recommended minimum of four units per million population, a benchmark set by the nuclear agency because it oversees radiotherapy equipment standards worldwide.21 Seven countries (Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) have zero radiotherapy units.21 Their cancer patients have no option for radiation treatment without traveling abroad.

For Caribbean island nations, this means flying to Trinidad, Barbados, or outside the region entirely. In Saint Lucia, 56% of cancer survivors reported traveling abroad for treatment, with 60% relying on family and friends to finance their care.22

But the radiotherapy data contain a paradox that underscores the limits of treatment alone. Among the 31 LAC countries with data, greater radiotherapy capacity is associated with higher mortality.21 The explanation: countries with older, more urbanized populations have both more cancer and more treatment infrastructure built in response to that burden. Health technologies are following the disease and the resources, which impact the urban-rural gap in cancer outcomes.

Uruguay, Barbados, and Antigua and Barbuda all meet the IAEA minimum, and all rank among the region's highest-mortality countries. Colombia, with just 2.4 units per million, achieves lower mortality than countries with three times its capacity. The scatter powerfully reinforces the case for investing in prevention and early detection alongside the expansion of treatment.

Even Brazil, which has the region's largest health system with 781,000 projected new cancer cases annually, faces severe internal disparities: northern states have a fraction of the radiotherapy capacity available in São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro.23

The workforce crisis compounds these gaps. Our region graduates just 444 new medical oncologists per year, adding only one new specialist for every 1.5 million people.24 Honduras and Nicaragua produce zero medical oncology graduates annually.24 When Honduras inaugurated its first-ever public linear accelerator in January 2026, officials noted that 95% of the population had previously been unable to afford private radiotherapy, which cost 250,000 to 300,000 lempiras (roughly US$10,000–12,000) per treatment cycle.25

Essential cancer medicines face chronic shortages. In Venezuela's public health system, up to 80% of the most commonly used oncological medications are depleted; patients use Instagram and WhatsApp to source chemotherapy drugs from abroad.26 Even in countries with better supply chains, out-of-pocket cancer spending drives families into poverty. Thirteen years after a Lancet Commission flagged the absence of publicly available data on cancer investment in Latin America, most of our countries still lack systematically collected data on cancer spending.27

Bright Spots: Policy Choices That Are Working

And yet, within this same landscape, a set of countries, not always the wealthiest, have found ways forward. Their deliberate policy choices are bending cancer outcomes.

Peru's Plan Esperanza is the region's most dramatic financial protection story. Before Plan Esperanza's launch in 2012, out-of-pocket cancer spending stood at 58.1%; by 2014, it had dropped to 7.33% through expanded insurance coverage and a dedicated cancer fund.28 Peru's HPV vaccination trajectory is equally striking: from 67% in 2019, it dipped to 38% during the pandemic before surging to 97% by 2024, the highest in the region and achieved through school-based delivery.17,18 But Peru also illustrates that commitment is selective: only 1% of women aged 50 to 69 received mammography screening in 2025, and just 16% of women were screened for cervical cancer in the last year, despite 89% reporting lifetime screening.2,13

Chile's Garantías Explícitas en Salud (GES), or Explicit Health Guarantees, established legally enforceable treatment timelines for priority cancers: if the public system fails to meet its guarantee, patients may seek care in the private sector at public expense.29 One of GES's most distinctive interventions is preventive cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) for patients aged 35 to 49 with gallstones, targeting a population at high risk for gallbladder cancer. National gallbladder cancer mortality decreased at roughly double the rate after GES implementation compared to the pre-GES trend, particularly benefiting the target age group.30 But the system is straining: 15,300 cancer treatment guarantees were overdue as of early 2026, a 542% increase since 2018.29 Rights-based guarantees work, but only if enforcement capacity keeps pace.

Colombia's Cuenta de Alto Costo (High-Cost Account) demonstrates the power of data transparency. Monitoring and publishing institutional performance indicators provides a mechanism to draw attention to insurers (Entidades Promotoras de Salud, EPS) when data reveal failures in care. This provides not only insurance companies but also patients, academics, and policymakers with stronger evidence to advocate for changes and new strategies, contributing to one of the region's lowest mortality rates.10,5

Cuba launched HPV vaccination in October 2025, targeting 68,524 girls aged 9 to 10.31 The country has also developed novel cancer treatments, including the therapeutic vaccine CIMAvax-EGF and the monoclonal antibody Nimotuzumab, now approved in seven countries: a distinctive innovation pathway for a resource-constrained system.32

Perhaps the most instructive bright spots come from the smallest countries. Paraguay's partnership with the City Cancer Challenge Foundation achieved a 60% reduction in pathology turnaround times.33 Partners in Health in Haiti achieved over 75% HPV vaccination completion rates, higher than in the United States, in one of the world's poorest countries.34 Nicaragua expanded cervical screening from 181,491 tests in 2006 to 1,217,194 in 2025, a six-fold increase from one clinic to 219.35 Antigua and Barbuda became the first country in the Americas to adopt HPV DNA testing per PAHO guidance, screening 1,569 women and protecting 59 from developing cervical cancer.14

These are not billion-dollar programs. They are targeted, affordable interventions: a vaccine that costs a few dollars per dose, a screening program that requires training and organization more than technology, a data system that demands political commitment more than money. The common thread is not wealth. It is a deliberate policy choice.

Diverse Capacities Do Not Mean Impossibility to Act

Comparing cancer outcomes across LAC is not straightforward. Our countries face genuinely different constraints: Haiti cannot be expected to match Chile, and resource-constrained governments face real trade-offs between cancer care and other health priorities. These differences matter and should be acknowledged.

But the evidence shows that many of the most impactful interventions are affordable. HPV vaccination costs a few dollars per dose; Peru climbed from 67% coverage in 2019 to 97% by 2024 without being a wealthy country.17,18 Cervical screening is low-tech and deployable in rural settings, as Nicaragua's six-fold expansion demonstrates.35 Partners in Health achieved higher HPV vaccination completion in rural Haiti than the United States achieves nationally.34

Countries should also be mindful that progress is fragile and can be reversed. In Mexico, when the Seguro Popular insurance program began to be dismantled starting in 2018, formally dissolved in 2020, and eventually replaced with IMSS-Bienestar (a new government health program), childhood cancer coverage in specialized institutions fell by 74.5% between 2018 and 2021.36 Health system capacities are not only hard to build; they can also be diminished by policy decisions.

What This Means for the Region

Cancer will become the leading cause of death in several more countries within a decade if current trends continue.7 It has already claimed that position in Peru.2 The demographic window for prevention investments is closing: as our region's median age rises from 31 toward 40 by 2050, the cancer burden will accelerate relentlessly.7

The opportunity for prevention is substantial. The WHO and IARC reported in February 2026 that 37% of all cancers globally are preventable, with 7.1 million cases linked to modifiable risk factors, and tobacco alone is responsible for 15%.37 In LAC, where infection-associated cancers represent a larger fraction of the total burden, the preventable share may be even higher.38 Brazil loses an estimated R$153 billion (roughly US$30 billion) annually to tobacco-related diseases, with approximately 55,000 cancer deaths per year attributable to tobacco alone.23

For Caribbean small island developing states, the challenges are existential. Populations too small to support comprehensive cancer centers, supply chains dependent on imports, and health workforces stretched across all specialties.22 The Caribbean Public Health Agency's (CARPHA) 2026 report on cancer incidence across seven Caribbean countries, the first comprehensive regional dataset, moves the Caribbean from estimated to actionable surveillance.39 But data alone is not enough. Regional cooperation, shared treatment facilities, and portable health benefits across borders are not aspirational; they are necessary.

What Must Happen Next

A checklist of five basic policy building blocks (a cancer plan, a cancer registry, cervical screening, HPV vaccination, and cancer surgery) shows how unevenly our region has built its foundation.

Ten countries have all five in place; three (Haiti, Dominica, and St. Kitts and Nevis) have just one. The pattern maps closely to outcomes: countries with the most complete infrastructure tend to have the lowest M:I ratios, and those without it almost always have the worst. Six actions could bend the curve:

Funded national cancer control plans by 2028. While 22 countries have developed cancer plans on paper, only 16 have had plans that were funded and actively implemented.40 Plans must include explicit budgets, timelines, and accountability mechanisms, following Chile's GES model for legal guarantees or Peru's dedicated cancer fund for ring-fenced financing.

HPV vaccination reaching 90% of eligible girls and boys. Twenty-four countries have adopted the single-dose schedule, which doubles delivery capacity.3 Peru proves school-based delivery works. Cuba launched its program in late 2025, but Haiti and Venezuela, the remaining holdouts, must follow.31

Organized cervical screening with HPV DNA testing at 70% coverage. Brazil's domestically developed HPV test, with over 90% sensitivity, shows that technological sovereignty is possible.15 Antigua and Saint Vincent show that even the smallest countries can launch modern screening programs.14,16

Radiotherapy capacity expansion through IAEA partnerships. An estimated 668 units were needed as of 2023.20 But expansion must be accompanied by equipment, maintenance, quality assurance, and trained staff; new machines are useless without medical physicists and dosimetrists to operate them.

Regional cancer data sharing facilitated by PAHO. This means expanding the CARPHA Caribbean registry model and supporting Colombia-style accountability systems across the region.39

Regional cooperation moving from aspiration to infrastructure. Caribbean and Central American nations need shared treatment centers, cross-border referral pathways, and pooled procurement through the PAHO Strategic Fund or other regional mechanisms.41

Our countries have 1.55 million reasons every year to start.

Johnattan García Ruiz

Johnattan García Ruiz

Managing Director, Decilion

Johnattan is a global health consultant and researcher, and is the founding partner of Decilion. This article is part of Health Systems in LAC, a series of data-driven analyses on health policy across Latin America and the Caribbean, also published in our Director's Substack.

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  1. Ecuador National Assembly. "Ley Orgánica para la Atención Integral del Cáncer." Passed February 4, 2026. https://www.asambleanacional.gob.ec/es/noticia/113069-la-asamblea-nacional-entrega-al-pais-una-ley-organica
  2. Instituto Peruano de Economía (IPE). "El 56% de casos de cáncer se diagnostican en etapas avanzadas." February 2026. https://ipe.org.pe/el-56-de-casos-de-cancer-se-diagnostican-en-etapas-avanzadas/
  3. Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). "PAHO Urges Strengthening Cervical Cancer Prevention and Care to Advance Toward Its Elimination." February 3, 2026. https://www.paho.org/en/news/3-2-2026-paho-urges-strengthening-cervical-cancer-prevention-and-care-advance-toward-its
  4. Leite, L. F., et al. "Cancer Incidence and Mortality Estimates in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Systematic Analysis of GLOBOCAN 2022." Cancer Research Communications, 5(12), 2236. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-25-0564
  5. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). GLOBOCAN 2022: Cancer Fact Sheets — Latin America and the Caribbean. 2024. https://gco.iarc.who.int
  6. Piñeros, M., et al. "An Updated Profile of the Cancer Burden, Patterns and Trends in Latin America and the Caribbean." Lancet Regional Health – Americas, 13, 100294. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2022.100294
  7. Grajales, V., et al. "Cancer Incidence and Mortality Projections in Latin America and the Caribbean." 2025. https://doi.org/10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-25-0564
  8. Inter-American Development Bank. "Future Health Spending in Latin America and the Caribbean: Health Expenditure Projections & Scenario Analysis." 2025. https://publications.iadb.org/en/future-health-spending-latin-america-and-caribbean-health-expenditure-projections-scenario-analysis
  9. Khandwala, Y. S., et al. "Prostate Cancer in the Caribbean: A Baseline Assessment of Current Practices and Potential Needs." Cancer Control, 29, 1–8. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/10732748221082372
  10. Cuenta de Alto Costo (CAC). "Situación del Cáncer en la Población Atendida en el SGSSS de Colombia." October 31, 2025. https://www.cuentadealtocosto.org
  11. JCO Global Oncology. "Gastric Cancer Mortality-to-Incidence Ratios in Latin America." JCO Global Oncology. November 2025. https://ascopubs.org/doi/abs/10.1200/GO-25-00531
  12. De Lemos, L., et al. "Stage at Diagnosis of Breast Cancer in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." PLOS ONE, 14(10), e0224012. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224012
  13. World Health Organization Global Health Observatory. "Prevalence of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Women Aged 30–49 Years (%)." Indicator NCD_CXCA_SCREENED_WITHIN_TIMEPERIOD. Data year: 2019. Accessed February 13, 2026. https://www.who.int/data/gho
  14. Fernández-Deaza, G. P., et al. "Cervical Cancer Screening Coverage in the Americas: A Synthetic Analysis." Lancet Regional Health – Americas, 30, 100670. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2024.100689
  15. Brazil Ministry of Health / Instituto Nacional de Câncer (INCA). National HPV DNA molecular test development and rollout. 2026. https://www.gov.br/inca/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/2026/inca-estima-781-mil-novos-casos-de-cancer-por-ano-no-brasil-entre-2026-e-2028
  16. Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Launch Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative and Human Papillomavirus Screening Program." September 25, 2025. https://www.paho.org/en/news/25-9-2025-saint-vincent-and-grenadines-launch-cervical-cancer-elimination-initiative-and-human
  17. Han, J., Li, M., et al. "Global HPV Vaccination Programs and Coverage Rates: A Systematic Review." eClinicalMedicine (The Lancet), 79, 103290. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103290
  18. WHO/UNICEF. "HPV Immunization Coverage Estimates Among Primary Target Cohort (9–14 Years Old Girls) (%)." Indicator SDGHPVRECEIVED. Latest available year (mostly 2024). Accessed February 13, 2026. https://www.who.int/data/gho
  19. Bonalumi dos Santos, M., et al. "Advancements and Future Perspectives of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination in Latin America: Insights from Recent Decades." Healthcare, 13(19), 2502. 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13192502
  20. Elbanna, M., et al. "Radiotherapy Resources in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Review of Current and Projected Needs Based on International Atomic Energy Agency Data." Lancet Oncology, 24(9), e376–e384. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(23)00299-1
  21. World Health Organization Global Health Observatory. "Total Density per Million Population: Radiotherapy Units." Indicator DEVICES22. Most recent data: 2021. Accessed February 13, 2026. https://www.who.int/data/gho
  22. MDPI. "Difficulties in Accessing Cancer Care in a Small Island State: A Community-Based Pilot Study of Cancer Survivors in Saint Lucia." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(9), 4770. 2021. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/9/4770
  23. Instituto Nacional de Câncer (INCA), Brazil. Tobacco-attributable cancer mortality estimates. 2026. https://www.gov.br/inca/pt-br/assuntos/gestor-e-profissional-de-saude/observatorio-da-politica-nacional-de-controle-do-tabaco/dados-e-numeros-do-tabagismo/custos-atribuiveis-ao-tabagismo
  24. JCO Global Oncology. "Addressing the Oncologist Shortage in Latin America: Insights From a Survey of Medical Oncology Fellowship Programs." JCO Global Oncology, 11, e2400462. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1200/GO-24-00462
  25. El Heraldo (Honduras). "Acelerador lineal para tratar pacientes con cáncer en el San Felipe funcionará a partir de enero de 2026." 2025. https://www.elheraldo.hn/honduras/acelerador-lineal-tratar-pacientes-cancer-san-felipe-funcionara-partir-enero-MO28045801
  26. Redacción Médica. "La crisis sanitaria de Venezuela deja sin quimioterapia a niños con cáncer." November 2025. https://www.redaccionmedica.com/secciones/sanidad-hoy/la-crisis-sanitaria-de-venezuela-deja-sin-quimioterapia-a-ninos-con-cancer--9793
  27. Goss, P. E., et al. "Planning Cancer Control in Latin America and the Caribbean." Lancet Oncology, 14(5), 391–436. 2013. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(13)70048-2
  28. Cancer Control. "Plan Esperanza: A Model for Cancer Prevention and Control in Peru." 2015. https://www.cancercontrol.info/cc2015/plan-esperanza-a-model-for-cancer-prevention-and-control-in-peru/
  29. Chile Ministry of Health. Garantías Explícitas en Salud (GES): Cancer program data and guarantee compliance reports. 2006–2026. https://www.minsal.cl/garantias-explicitas-en-salud-auge-o-ges/
  30. Mardones, L., & Frenz, P. "Changes in Gallbladder Cancer Mortality and Hospital Discharges Due to Preventive Cholecystectomy in Chile." Revista Médica de Chile, 147(7), 860–869. 2019. https://doi.org/10.4067/s0034-98872019000700860
  31. Prensa Latina. "Cuba Begins Human Papillomavirus Vaccination in Girls." October 31, 2025. https://www.plenglish.com/news/2025/10/31/cuba-begins-human-papillomavirus-vaccination-in-girls/
  32. Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center; Cuban biotechnology sources. CIMAvax-EGF and Nimotuzumab clinical trial and approval data. Various years. https://www.roswellpark.org/cimavax
  33. City Cancer Challenge Foundation. "Paraguay Breast Cancer Improvement Program." Various years. https://www.citycancerchallenge.org
  34. Partners in Health. "Cancer Care in Haiti." Various years. https://www.pih.org
  35. Prensa Latina. "Nicaragua at the Forefront of the Fight Against Cancer in Central America." November 10, 2024. https://www.plenglish.com/news/2024/11/10/nicaragua-at-the-forefront-of-the-fight-against-cancer-in-central-ame/
  36. Cortés-Adame, L. J., & Gómez-Dantés, O. "The Termination of Seguro Popular: Impacts on the Care of High-Cost Diseases in the Uninsured Population in Mexico." Lancet Regional Health – Americas, 44, 100993. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2667-193X(25)00088-2
  37. World Health Organization / International Agency for Research on Cancer. "Four in Ten Cancer Cases Could Be Prevented Globally." February 3, 2026. https://www.who.int/news/item/03-02-2026-four-in-ten-cancer-cases-could-be-prevented-globally
  38. de Martel, C., et al. "Global Burden of Cancer Attributable to Infections in 2018." The Lancet Global Health, 8(2), e180–e190. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(19)30488-7
  39. Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA). Cancer Incidence in the Caribbean, Volume I. 2026. https://caribbeancrh.carpha.org/
  40. Villarreal-Garza, C., et al. "National Cancer Control Plans in Latin America and the Caribbean: Challenges and Future Directions." The Lancet Oncology, 26(6), e320–e330. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(25)00039-7
  41. Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Strategic Fund procurement reports. Various years. https://www.paho.org/en/paho-strategic-fund

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