Ethnic, racial and socioeconomic disparities in breast cancer survival in two Brazilian capitals between 1996 and 2012

• Published in: Cancer epidemiology 2021-12, Vol.75, p.102048-102048, Article 102048
• Main Authors: Renna Junior, Nelson Luiz, Lima, Carlos Anselmo, Laporte, Cyntia Asturian, Coleman, Michel P., de Azevedo e Silva, Gulnar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms; Cancer; Cancer epidemiology; Child, Preschool; Color; Diagnosis; Epidemiology; Ethnicity; Expectancy; Female; Health care; Health hazards; Health Status Disparities; Healthcare Disparities; Humans; Impact analysis; Inequalities; Medical prognosis; Mortality; Municipalities; Outcome assessment in health care; Regression analysis; Skin diseases; Social Class; Socioeconomic Factors; Socioeconomics; Survival; Survival analysis; Womens health
• ISSN: 1877-7821; 1877-783X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.canep.2021.102048

To study the impact of socio-economic status and ethno-racial strata on excess mortality hazard and net survival of women with breast cancer in two Brazilian state capitals. We conducted a survival analysis with individual data from population-based cancer registries including women with breast cancer diagnosed between 1996 and 2012 in Aracaju and Curitiba. The main outcomes were the excess mortality hazard (EMH) and net survival. The associations of age, year of diagnosis, disease stage, race/skin colour and socioeconomic status (SES) with the excess mortality hazard and net survival were analysed using multi-level spline regression models, modelled as cubic splines with knots at 1 and 5 years of follow-up. A total of 2045 women in Aracaju and 7872 in Curitiba were included in the analyses. The EMH was higher for women with lower SES and for black and brown women in both municipalities. The greatest difference in excess mortality was seen between the most deprived women and the most affluent women in Curitiba, hazard ratio (HR) 1.93 (95%CI 1.63–2.28). For race/skin colour, the greatest ratio was found in Curitiba (HR 1.35, 95%CI 1.09–1.66) for black women compared with white women. The most important socio-economic difference in net survival was seen in Aracaju. Age-standardised net survival at five years was 55.7% for the most deprived women and 67.2% for the most affluent. Net survival at eight years was 48.3% and 61.0%, respectively. Net survival in Curitiba was higher than in Aracaju in all SES groups.” Our findings suggest the presence of contrasting breast cancer survival expectancy in Aracaju and Curitiba, highlighting regional inequalities in access to health care. Lower survival among brown and black women, and those in lower SES groups indicates that early detection, early diagnosis and timely access to treatment must be prioritized to reduce inequalities in outcome among Brazilian women. •Excess mortality hazard higher for women with lower socioeconomic status in Aracaju and Curitiba.•Differences reaching 1.4-fold in Aracaju and 1.8-fold in Curitiba comparing the least with the most deprived category of SES.•Black and Brown women experience higher excess mortality hazard irrespective of socioeconomic status.•Five-year net survival higher in Curitiba than in Aracaju in all SES groups.