OBJECTIVES : To estimate the trends of socioeconomic inequalities in access to cancer health services in Peru within the framework of the implementation of the Results Based Budgeting Program (PpR)

METHODS : Longitudinal, analytical and comparative study based on the Demography and Family Health Survey 2014 and 2017. The use of health services in cancer was the dependent variable, for the general population and according to age groups, area of residence and natural region. Measurements of inequality in the use of health services were made on the basis of the concentration (CC) curves, the dominance test and the concentration index (CI)

RESULTS : 8,304 (2014) and 8,481 participants (2017) were included. The proportion of people who used health services in cancer was 26.1% (2014) and 27.9% (2017). The use of health services in cancer showed an increase in the female gender, age group of 40 to 49 years, urban area, and natural regions of coast and jungle, and a marked decrease in men, the age group of 50 to 59 years old and in the natural region of the sierra during the study period. CC were distributed below the line of equality, which indicates an inequality in the use of services in cancer, in favor of the richest groups and the predominance of CC in 2017 with respect to previous years. The changes in the CI were statistically significant in the age range of 40 to 49 years, in the rural area, and regions of the highlands and jungle, which indicates a reduction in the concentration of use of these services in these characteristics

CONCLUSIONS : The use of health services in cancer in Peru increased and inequality decreased in the 2014-2017 period, coinciding with the implementation of the PpR. However, the use of these services continues to have a distribution in favor of the richest populations