Relationship between the Use of Agrochemicals and the Development of Prostate Cancer in the State of Santa Catarina

Prostate cancer (PCa) is considered the second most common type of cancer among men. It is a pathology that is commonly asymptomatic in the early stages, a factor that causes patients to seek medical help only when the disease is already at an advanced stage. Some risk factors have well-established bases, such as age, family history and obesity. However, new studies suggest a possible relationship with environmental and occupational factors, mainly in agricultural areas. It is believed that this fact may be related to exposure to pesticides, so that rural areas are the places where the population is most exposed. Thus, the objective is to identify the relationship between the main risk factors and the development of PCa and investigate a possible relationship with exposure to pesticides. Data regarding epidemiology were collected from the Hospital Cancer Records (RHC), while data regarding mortality were collected from the Mortality Information System (SIM). The information has national coverage and, as its main focus, the State of Santa Catarina, in the period from 2012 to 2022. After analysis, it was identified that the etiology of PCa, despite not being well defined, is compatible with what was described in the literature and has advanced age as the main risk factor. When analyzing data relating to occupation, there is a marked prevalence of cases in rural workers, which represents a third of cases, with a predominance in 8 of the 12 micro-regions.