Abstract
The aim of this study was to develop a methodology for estimating cancer incidence in Brazil and its regions. Using data from population-based cancer registries (RCBP, acronym in Portuguese) and the Brazilian Mortality Information System (SIM, acronym in Portuguese), annual incidence/mortality (I/M) ratios were calculated by type of cancer, age group and sex in each RCBP. Poisson longitudinal multilevel models were applied to estimate the I/M ratios by region in 2018. The estimate of new cancer cases in 2018 was calculated by applying the estimated I/M ratios to the number of SIM-corrected deaths that occurred that year. North and Northeast concentrated the lowest I/M ratios. Pancreatic, lung, liver and esophageal cancers had the lowest I/M ratios, whereas the highest were estimated for thyroid, testicular, prostate and female breast cancers. For 2018, 506,462 new cancer cases were estimated in Brazil. Female breast and prostate were the two main types of cancer in all regions. In the North and Northeast, cervical and stomach cancers stood out. Differences in the I/M ratios between regions were observed and may be related to socioeconomic development and access to health services.