RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To discover, through the use of verbal autopsies, the primary characteristics of patients who have died of breast cancer (BCa). METHODS: We reviewed 105 death certificates where BCa was registered as the cause of death in a one-year period. A verbal autopsies instrument was designed for BCa, it was validated through expert consultation. A test-retest and Spearman coefficient were applied. The instrument explored sociodemographic, biological, life-style and health services variables. Data was obtained from patients' relatives. Any patient whose family could not be located or declined to participate was excluded from the study. RESULTS: Eighty-one verbal autopsies were applied (77%). The mean age at the time of death was 53 +/- 15. There was a direct family history of BCa in 25%; and in 31 % there was overweight or obesity. Only 17% of the tumors were discovered by health care workers, and the mean survival after diagnosis was 2.3 +/- 2 years. CONCLUSION: The verbal autopsy for BCa is a useful tool. It showed that 83 % of the deceased women identified the tumor by themselves. The health services must reinforce programs for BCa early detection.
