Ángeles Cruz Martínez
La Jornada Newspaper
Tuesday, November 11, 2025, p. 11
The dizzying changes in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer force health institutions to evolve, and in Mexico, to take measures to address the increase in the incidence of the disease, which is evident in the National Cancer Institute (Incan), where between 2018 and 2024 the number of first-time consultations increased by almost 50 percent.
The 2025-2030 institutional program of Incan, a national reference center for the care of malignant tumors in people without social security, highlights that progress in scientific research and the development of medications capable of slowing the progression of the disease has favored greater survival of patients.
This is observed in the increase in subsequent consultations, which went from 201,506 in 2018 to 263,109 in 2024. In any case, cancer is the third cause of death in the country, only after acute myocardial infarction and diabetes mellitus.
According to the document published yesterday in the Official Gazette of the Federation, One of Incan’s priority objectives is to contribute to universal and free access to medical, hospital and drug care services. It indicates that the sectorization of the hospital began to offer comprehensive support to patients. The updating of equipment and the opening of new clinical services is also underway.
The objective is to respond to the problem of cancer in Mexico. Data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) from 2023 indicate that of the deaths registered in the country, 11.4 percent were due to malignant neoplasms, and of these, breast cancer is the main cause of death from cancer in women aged 60 and over, and prostate cancer in men.
By states of the Republic, Chihuahua registered the highest rate of deaths from tumors, with 86.3 per 100 thousand inhabitants, followed by Baja California Sur, with 86.2, and Sonora, 83.2. The entity that presented the lowest incidence was Guerrero, with 51.1 deaths per 100 thousand inhabitants, followed by Oaxaca, with 62.9, and Tlaxcala, 62.2.
