Changes in diagnosis method and staging of breast cancer at an Oncology reference center in Western Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

Objective: To compare diagnosis methods and staging of breast cancer in women treated at an Oncology reference center, in 2005 and 2012. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive and retrospective study, conducted in a population of women diagnosed with breast cancer, in the years 2005 and 2012, who were treated at Centro de Oncologia Cascavel (CEONC), in Cascavel, Paraná, Brazil. The following variables were considered: clinical staging (early [stages I and II] and advanced [stages III and IV]), diagnosis method (clinical or imaging), and age range. To verify relationship between categorical variables, the χ2 test was employed, considering a level of statistical significance of p<0.05. Results: Between 2005 and 2012, the diagnosis method changed, with growth on use of imaging methods (from 66.1% in 2005 to 83.7% in 2012; p<0.05) compared to diagnosis made by physical exam (from 33.8% in 2005 to 16.3% in 2012; p<0.05). An increase occurred in early stage of disease (from 67.6% in 2005 to 84.4% in 2012; p<0.05) in comparison to advanced stages (from 32.4% in 2005 to 15.6% in 2012; p<0.05). Conclusion: Between 2005 and 2012, the number of breast cancer cases discovered by imaging methods increased, leading to diagnostic in earlier stages.