Detección temprana del cáncer de mama mediante la termografía en Ecuador

Abstract

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancer types among women in Quito, Ecuador. Although, awareness campaigns and researches have led to improved diagnosis and treatment, in less developed countries it still is an unresolved problem due to the diagnosis only in advanced stages and the lack of resources enabling early detection. In Ecuador, for example, about four out of ten women diagnosed with breast cancer are in advanced stages (III and IV), whose treatment is costly and complex. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that screening programs are the more efficient way to combat this disease. Therefore it is fundamental to address new researches on early detection that are cost-effective and present advantages over the current method (based on the self-examination and mammography). The identification of such disease in early stage increases the prognosis and the survival rate. This article proposes a technique to incorporate low-cost, non-invasive early diagnosis based on the use of thermal.