Late-Stage Diagnosis of Breast Cancer in Brazil: Analysis of Data from Hospital-Based Cancer Registries (2000–2012)

Objective To analyze the time trend and the factors regarding the diagnosis of late-stage breast cancer in Brazil from 2000 to 2012. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from hospital-based cancer registries. Joinpoint regression was used to analyze the time trends of stage at diagnosis. The risk of late-stage presentation was estimated using multinomial logistic regression. Results A total of 170,757 cases were analyzed. The median time from diagnosis to treatment was of 43 days (range: 0–182 days). The percentage of cases with late-stage diagnosis decreased from 2000 to 2002, with an annual percent change (APC) of -6.6% (95% confidence interval [95%CI]: -7.6–-5.5%); it increased from 2002 until 2009, with an APC of 1.1% (95% CI: 0.9–1.3%), and remained stable up to 2012. Women with college education (compared with illiterate women) had less chance of having a late-stage diagnosis (odds ratio [OR]: 0.32; 95%CI: 0.29–0.35). The odds were greater among brown women (OR: 1.30; 95%CI: 1.21–1.41) and black women (OR: 1.63; 95%CI: 1.47–1.82), compared with white women. The odds were also higher for women treated in facilities located and in the Northern region of Brazil (OR: 1.23; 95%CI: 1.04–1.45) and in the Midwest (OR: 1.61; 95%CI: 1.34–1.94), compared with those treated in the southern region of the country. Age, histological type, and marital status were some of the other factors that were positively related to staging at the diagnosis. Conclusion Access to diagnosis of breast cancer is uneven in Brazil, and women with lower socioeconomic status present a greater probability of having an advanced stage at diagnosis.