Outcome of Patients With Breast Cancer Treated in a Private Health Care Institution in Brazil

PURPOSE: Middle-income countries like Brazil often have a dichotomous health care system in which patients may be treated in either public or private institutions that differ substantially in terms of level of access to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a prospective, observational study to assess real-world data in 1,230 female patients with breast cancer who were treated in a private health care institution between 2012 and 2016 in Brazil. RESULTS: Breast cancer in these patients mostly was diagnosed at early (79.0% stages I or II) or locally advanced (16.1% stage III) stages. The primary tumor was resected in 89.0% of cases, most often through breast-conserving surgery (55.1%). Patients with locally advanced disease received more aggressive therapy (eg, higher rates of mastectomy, axillary dissection and chemotherapy use) than patients with early-stage disease. The estimated 2-year overall survival (OS) was 95.3%. Survival was significantly longer among patients with stage I or II disease (2-year OS, 97.9% and 97.5%, respectively) than those with stage III or IV disease (89.4% and 69.5%, respectively; P < .01). Tumor grade was also correlated with OS in the overall cohort (P = .05); triple-negative status was only prognostic for patients with stage III disease (P < .01). CONCLUSION: The data provided aid understanding of the current scenario of breast cancer presentation and treatment in the Brazilian private health care system and may serve as a foundation to guide resource allocation. Our results reinforce the need to pursue adequate access to cancer care in low- and middle-income countries to optimize patient outcome.