Welcome, Argentina!

Argentina has joined the IGCS Strategic Alliance Partnership Program!

I am very pleased to announce that Argentina has joined our  Strategic Alliance Partner Program. Argentina has made significant improvements in its gynecologic cancer mortality rates for over a decade with formalized education and training through the Argentinian Association of Gynecologic Oncology (AAGO). They have been a leader in South America for many years and have led the way in harmonizing training among institutions in the region.

Prof. Michael Quinn, IGCS President has commented, “Our Argentinian colleagues have long been supporters of IGCS and I am very excited about the great things to come with our partnership. Outstanding work has been done to date and I am confident working together can further advance the goals in the region. Recently, I traveled to Argentina with Roberto Angioli, IGCS President Elect and we experienced first-hand the commitment and dedication of the team members caring for women with gynecologic malignancies.”

Instrumental in securing our partnership were Myriam Perrotta, Adriana Bermudez, Silvio Tatti, Gonzalo Franco and Gustavo Maya to name a few. IGCS is grateful for their leadership and ability to bring the region together toward the common goal of providing the best gynecologic oncology care for the women of Argentina. Argentina is a very large country with a population of close to 45 million people (over 22 million are women.)

Breast cancer is the commonest cause of cancer death in Argentinian women, reaching 5,400 deaths per year. Cervical cancer ranks as the 3rd most frequent cancer among women in Argentina and the 2nd most frequent cancer among women between 15 and 44 years of age.

Argentina’s health system is very complex and there are considerable differences between the economic resources of it’s different regions. While Argentina is classified by the World Bank as an upper-middle-income country, cervical cancer rates are similar to those of low-income countries. This has been explained based on differences in economic development as well as unequal access to prevention and treatment among different regions throughout the country.

Over the past several decades, Argentina has made major advances in healthcare but there is still much work to do. IGCS looks forward to working with the Argentinian Association of Gynecologic Oncology (AAGO) to discuss new strategies reflecting local resources, aiming to provide the best possible quality of care to women affected by gynecological cancer.

Welcome to all the gynecologic oncology professionals joining IGCS through our partnership. Together we will undoubtedly make great strides in Argentina.

Sincerely,

Mary Eiken, RN, MS
IGCS CEO