Open Access
CC BY 4.0 · Journal of Coloproctology 2024; 44(S 01): S1-S138
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1808865
Câncer do Cólon/Reto/Ânus
Colon/Rectum/Anus Cancer
ID – 138161
Open Topics (oral presentation)

PERSPECTIVES BETWEEN THE DIAGNOSIS INTERVAL AND THERAPEUTIC START TIME FOR COLORECTAL CANCER IN BRAZIL: A DECADE-LONG STUDY UNDER THE SCOPE OF LAW NO. 12.732

Lidiane Gomes Bandeira
1   Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brasil
,
Vitor Caiaffo Brito
1   Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brasil
› Author Affiliations
 

    Introduction Law 12.732/12 regulates that oncological treatment must be initiated within 60 days after the diagnosis of malignant neoplasia. This regulation allows for an analysis, more than 10 years after the law's consolidation, of the adequacy of therapeutic modalities, especially for neoplasms like colorectal cancer (CRC), which is the third most common cancer in the world.

    Objective To evaluate the time between diagnosis and the start of treatment for colorectal cancer and its compliance with Law 12.732/12, from 2014 to 2023.

    Methods This is an observational, cross-sectional, and descriptive study based on secondary data collected from the DATASUS platform, using the Oncology Panel, with reference to ICD-10 codes: C18, C19, and C20, corresponding to CRC. The therapeutic modalities of focus were surgery, chemotherapy, and radiology, filtered by the time of diagnosis and treatment from 2014 to 2023.

    Results During the analyzed period, 272,328 cases of CRC were diagnosed in Brazil. Of these, 45.63% started treatment within the appropriate period, 30.27% started treatment after 60 days, and 24.10% had no therapeutic information in the records. Chemotherapy was the most common therapeutic modality, with 117,554 (43.16%) treatments, followed by surgery with 63,851 (23.44%) treatments, and radiotherapy with 20,512 (7.54%). Among these modalities, some treatments involved combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy, accounting for 4,800 (1.76%) treatments. Regarding compliance with Law 12.732/12, chemotherapy and radiotherapy accounted for the majority of delays beyond 60 days, predominantly occurring within the 61-91 day range. Additionally, a residual portion indicated delays of more than 2 years for these modalities, with respective rates of 2.35% and 1.76%. However, for surgical therapy, there was a predominance of treatments initiated within 30 days after diagnosis, with 91.91% of cases treated within 60 days, and a delay of 0.02% for treatments delayed by over 2 years.

    Conclusion The findings indicate that, 11 years after the implementation of Law 12.732/12, therapeutic delays continue to primarily affect patients treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, with peak delays occurring around 90 days and extending up to 2 years. However, surgical therapy is closer to effective compliance with the law, with the majority of cases resolved in accordance with the prescribed time frame.


    No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

    Publication History

    Article published online:
    25 April 2025

    © 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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