In 2021, Brazil recorded an alarming drop in the number of mammograms performed, with only 17% of women eligible for a mammogram being screened, while the WHO (World Health Organization) recommends at least 70%. The instruction is that women over 40 take the exam every year. In Santa Catarina, the rate is 18%.

In 2021, the mammography rate in SC was 18% – Photo: Disclosure/SECOM Itajaí

Data taken from the Avon Institute and Cancer Observatory’s Breast Cancer Treatment Review in the Unified Health System.

Brazil has a mammography policy that requires women to be screened annually from age 50, so the age group analyzed in the study is between 50 and 69, which is different from the WHO recommendation.

Between 2015 and 2021, 28,255,364 mammograms were performed with SUS. During the pandemic, that number dropped, recording a national decline of 40% from 2019 to 2020 and 18% from 2020 to 2021.

“The impact of this pandemic, combined with the lack of prioritization of investment in women’s health, translates into numbers that will directly harm the health of Brazilian women over the next few years,” says Daniela Grelin, executive director of the Avon Institute.

The worst mammography coverage rate is in the Federal District at 4%. The best from Alagoas and Parana, both with 35%.

During the analyzed period, from 2015 to 2021, more than 437,000 women underwent chemotherapy procedures in the country.

diagnosis and treatment

The study also showed that there has been an increase in late diagnoses in recent years. In 2015, for example, the rate was 35%; in 2021 it rose to 45%.

“By watching the data that shows the shortcomings of government breast health policies during Covid-19, we can predict that more women will be admitted to SUS with late diagnoses, less chance of a cure, and poor quality of life,” explains Daniela.

Among women who received chemotherapy in 2021 for breast cancer, 45% were diagnosed in advanced stages, representing 157,000 cases in stages III and IV.

More than 60% of all women diagnosed in the country started treatment after the deadline set by Law 12 732/12, which guarantees patients to start their first treatment within 60 days of cancer confirmation.

The average time in the country in 2020 was 174 days between confirmation of a diagnosis and the start of the first treatment. People waited 114 days longer than required by law to start treatment.