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Background: The objective of this study was to determine the correlation between health system delay and clinical disease stage in patients with breast cancer.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 886 patients who were referred to 4 of the largest public cancer hospitals in Mexico City for the evaluation of a probable breast cancer. Data on time intervals, sociodemographic factors, and clinical stage at diagnosis were retrieved. A logistic regression model was used to estimate the average marginal effects of delay on the probability of being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer (stages III and IV).Results: The median time between problem identification and the beginning of treatment was 7 months. The subinterval with the largest delay was that between the first medical consultation and diagnosis (median, 4 months). Only 15% of the patients who had cancer were diagnosed with stage 0 and I disease, and 48% were diagnosed with stage III and IV disease. Multivariate analyses confirmed independent correlations for the means of problem identification, patient delay, health system delay, and age with a higher probability that patients would begin cancer treatment in an advanced stage.Conclusions: In the sample studied, the majority of patients with breast cancer began treatment after a delay. Both patient delays and provider delays were associated with advanced disease. Research aimed at identifying specific access barriers to medical services is much needed to guide the design of tailored health policies that go beyond the promotion of breast care awareness and screening participation to include improvements in health services that facilitate access to timely diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To evaluate prognostic factors for breast cancer in Mexican women. Material and Methods. Four hundred and thirty two women with breast cancer, admitted from 1990 to 1999 to the General Hospital of Mexico, were included to evaluate their survival using the Kaplan-Meier technique and Cox proportional hazard method. Results. Overall 5-year survival was 58.9%. The shortest survival rate corresponds to the clinical stage (IIIB, 47.5%; IIIA, 44.2%; and IV, 15%), the haematological metastasis (21.4%) and surgical edges with positive tumor (12.5%). Lymph node-positive (RR, 1.9; IC95%, 1.3-2.8), clinical stage IV (RR, 14.8; IC95%, 5.5-39.7) and surgical edges with positive tumor (RR, 2.4; IC95%, 1.2-4.8) were the central prognostic factors. Conclusions. These results give consistency to diagnostic and therapeutic criteria for women with breast cancer who receive medical attention in Mexico, taking into consideration the characteristics of the tumor -such as extension, clinical stage and status of the lymph nodes- before making a decision as to the initial therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper aims to assess diet and lifestyle by designing a healthy behavior index (HBI) related to the educational level and time of breast cancer (BC) diagnosis., Methods: 241 female breast cancer survivors treated at Centro Estatal de Cancerología (State Cancer Center) in Mexico were assessed based on dietary pattern, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, body size and shape, sleep disorders with increasing scores that represent less healthy characteristics. The odds ratios (OR) and quartiles of the healthy behavior index and the time of diagnosis were estimated. The regression model was used to assess the association between HBI and the BC covariates., Results: The healthy behavior index for the two first quartiles was that of p < 0.001. The graphic behavior of correspondence with the covariates (age, schooling and moderate physical activity) showed a different three-dimensional effect on healthy behaviors. According to diagnosis time ≤ three years, the following covariates were significant: socioeconomic status, (OR: 4.34 CI 95% 1.2-9.5), sleep disturbances (p = 020) and protective intake of fruits and vegetables (p = 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, survivors with a high level of education are significantly more likely to show a healthy behavior (OR: 0.3 95% CI 0.12 - 0.8); as well as the early clinical stages (OR: 0.4 95% CI 0.2-0.9)., Conclusion: In breast cancer survivors, both the high level of education and early clinical stages were important healthy behavior modifiers., Practice Implications: Since diets are potentially modifiable, the findings may have further implications to promote a careful dietary pattern to prevent breast cancer. These variables should be assessed as a strategy in cancer survivor preventive programs., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)