The National Cancer Institute is dissolved, according to the announcement by the Ministry of Health on March 6. This decision implies the dissolution of SIVER, responsible for epidemiological surveillance and reporting of cancer in Argentina. The lack of understanding about the importance of this work and the particularities of cancer, which requires different surveillance compared to other diseases, puts at risk the generation of local data on cancer in the country, which is essential for public health decision-making.
The former coordinator of SIVER, Dr. Gisel Fattore, emphasizes the crucial role the institute played in training specialized human resources in the management and analysis of cancer data. SIVER closely collaborated with cancer prevention programs and worked on designing a unique registration system. In addition, it was responsible for training residents in Cancer Epidemiology and updating mortality data due to cancer in the country and the provinces.
Dr. Fattore underscores that the dissolution of the INC jeopardizes the continuation of these essential tasks and access to cancer information in Argentina. Numerous benefits have been provided to hospitals and provinces through data collected and analyzed by SIVER, as well as through the implementation of the Institutional Tumor Registry of Argentina (RITA). The disappearance of the INC would also affect collaboration with Population Cancer Registries and the provision of specialized training courses.
Dr. Fattore expresses her concern about the lack of understanding regarding the operation and importance of the work carried out by the INC, and refutes the claim that SIVER's tasks are duplicated by the Undersecretariat of Epidemiological Surveillance. The dissolution of the National Cancer Institute would represent a significant loss in the fight against this disease and in the generation of key information for cancer control and prevention in Argentina.
