Spatiotemporal analysis of breast cancer incidence: A study in southern Portugal between 2005 and 2012

Aim: To characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of breast cancer (BC) incidence in females in the area with the highest incidence rate (IR) of the country in 2005-2012. Materials and Methods: The BC-IR was studied using mapping techniques, analysis of spatiotemporal clusters and analysis of spatial variations in temporal trends. Results: The overall BC-IR was 119.13/10⁵ inhabitants. The annual BC-IRs were 17.7, 156.9, 213.3 and 232.9/10⁵ inhabitants for women diagnosed at <40, 40-49, 50-64 and ≥65 years of age. This IR increased overall (by 4.113%/year) and for the four age groups (by 5.935, 3.833, 4.114 and 2.194%/year, respectively). In patients with locoregional and metastatic disease, the IRs were 93.6 and 7.4/10⁵ inhabitants, increasing by 6.976 and 0.303%/year, respectively. Several spatiotemporal clusters and two spatial-variations in temporal trends were detected. The Lisbon region showed high IR clusters for most groups. Conclusion: This study identified critical areas of high IR and increasing trends for female BC-IR, providing evidence of heterogeneities in this area.