Factors associated with the time to treat breast cancer in the pandemic period: an observational study

OBJECTIVES: to analyze the factors associated with the time to surgical treatment for breast cancer in patients seen at a reference mastology outpatient clinic in the State of Ceará. METHODS: analytical, longitudinal study with medical charts from the Mastology Outpatient Clinic of Assis Chateaubriand Maternity School. We used 140 medical charts of breast cancer patients with surgeries performed during the pandemic. RESULTS: the study evidenced associations between schooling and shorter time to treatment in patients who underwent biopsy before the first outpatient visit (p = 0.026; OR: 0.16; CI = 0.03-0.85); in the group who had the biopsy performed by the outpatient clinic, was associated the type of tumor (p = 0.019) and neoadjuvant therapy (p = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: the lesser educational level, tumor type, and use of neoadjuvant therapy were factors associated with the time to treatment during the pandemic period.