Understand what inguinal cancer is, which caused the death of Anderson, from Molejo

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Singer Anderson Leonardo, 51, from the pagode group Molejo, died this Friday afternoon (26) after battling inguinal cancer. He was admitted to the ICU of the Unimed-Rio hospital, in Rio de Janeiro.

Anderson was diagnosed with cancer in October 2022 and received news of a cure three months later. In May of last year, however, the disease returned and, this time, it also affected the testicles. The musician maintained his concert schedule, but had been undergoing treatment since then.

In September 2023, he had a pulmonary embolism and was admitted to the Intensive Care Center (CTI), being discharged 11 days after the episode. At the end of February, Anderson felt ill after a show and returned to the hospital with severe pain.

UNDERSTAND WHAT INGUINAL CANCER IS

Inguinal cancer can have different origins and refers to the presence of neoplasia in a region, such as the armpit or groin, not specifically in an organ of the body. According to uro-oncologist Bruno Benigno, director of the Uro Onco Clinic at Oswaldo Cruz Hospital, there are several anatomical components in these regions that could be the focus of the disease.

In the male groin, as was the case with Anderson, muscles, lymph nodes or the spermatic cord, whose function is to materially and neurologically nourish the testicles through blood vessels, can be affected. The ganglia (or lymph nodes) act as filters and, popularly, are better known as lumps, those lumps under the skin that appear whenever the body’s immune system fights a battle.

“Any of these components can give rise to a focus of cancer. However, most of the time, in 95% of cases, cancer in the inguinal region is actually a reflection, an area of ​​metastases of a cancer that originated in another organ”, says Benigno.

The problem in this part of the body, in general, can be triggered by neoplasms in the skin, in the internal region of the pelvis, uterus, ovary, prostate, testicle or penis. “All of these cancers can metastasize to the groin region. The origin, in most cases, is outside the region itself, but the groin is a focus for receiving metastatic cells”, reinforces the doctor.

WHAT IS THE TREATMENT LIKE?

To treat inguinal cancer in the groin, it is first necessary to establish the location and type of cancer that appeared in the body. “The treatment is closely linked to the organ of origin of the cancer. If it originated in the skin of the lower limb, for example, like melanoma, the treatment will be to remove the focus of the disease and surgery to empty it, remove of these diseased nodes”, says Benigno.

Eventually, the nodes may also be removed, whether or not followed by chemotherapy. The investigation therefore needs to analyze whether there have been previous sarcomas in the groin region, genital tumors or in the scrotum.

“Testicular tumors generally do not metastasize to the groin region, but to the inner region of the abdomen”, explains the uro-oncologist.

HOW TO PREVENT THE DISEASE

To prevent these tumor developments, the medical recommendation is to pay attention to the first signs of the original tumor, carrying out routine health examinations annually.

“A woman who has had breast cancer may have lymph nodes in the armpit, but let’s not say it’s an armpit tumor. Let’s say it’s a breast tumor that has metastasized to the armpit. Or a groin tumor, which is actually of urethra. So treatment, prevention and all medical reasoning will always be developed based on the organ of origin of the cancer”, reinforces Benigno.

In the musician Anderson’s situation, the doctor considers that the origin of the neoplasm that killed him is not clear. “We only know that there were cancer cells lodged in the bladder,” he says.

Cardiologists, urologists, geriatricians and general practitioners are some of the doctors who are able to carry out preventive screening for oncological diseases. Another important tip is to check the age profile of the risk groups so as not to be caught off guard by tumors that are easily identified in exams such as those of the prostate, bladder or kidney.

Prostate cancer, in men, is the most common disease and, according to data from Inca (National Cancer Institute), there are 83 thousand new cases every year in Brazil. In some regions of the country there is also a very high incidence of penile cancer, which is also still a public health problem in the country”, says the expert.

In women, the most prevalent cancers are breast and gynecological, such as cervical cancer. For both genders, there is also a warning about colon cancer of the large intestine, for which preventive examination is carried out with colonoscopy after the age of 50.

“The prevention campaign will be much more targeted towards the patient’s sex and age group. Personal risk factors and family risk factors will help the doctor to define the type of neoplasm, the type of cancer that needs to be tracked individually”, highlights Benigno.