OBJECTIVES:

In Colombia, Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) shows worse prognosis and survival rates than other breast cancer types. Given this, it is essential to understand the timelines of diagnosis and treatment. In Colombia, patients’ health care is highly fragmented; therefore, there is usually a difference in the care provided between the patients from the contributory regimen (CR) and subsidized regimen (SR). This study aimed to describe the patient journey regarding treatment patterns and course of treatment of patients diagnosed with TNBC.

METHODS:

This was an observational, retrospective, and multicenter cohort study based on medical charts review from patients attended from January 1st, 2015, to December 31st, 2019, in five healthcare institutions

RESULTS:

A total of 301 patients were included in the analysis. Of them, 56% (n=170) were affiliated to CR and 38% (n=114) to SR. At diagnosis, 2.7%(n=8) were classified as stage IA, 0.3% (n=1) IB, 17% (n=51) IIA, 19% (n=57) IIB, 11% (n=33) IIIA, 20% (n=60) IIIB, 3% (n=10) IIIC 5% (n=16) IV, and 21% (n=64) Unknown. A total of 1195 treatments were prescribed; the most common was chemotherapy with 50.4% (n=603), followed by radiotherapy 25.3 %(n=303) and surgery 23.8% (n=285). The median diagnostic interval (DI) was 127 days, and the median treatment interval (TI) was 68 days. The median DI was 114 days in the CR and 137 days in the SR (P=0.1256), while the median TI was 60 days in the CR versus 78.5 days in the SR (P=0.002891).

CONCLUSIONS: The TNBC patient´s journey in Colombia showed that the treatment patterns follow international recommendations. However, it was evidenced that there are delays at different points in their care pathway that impact the DI and TI, being more significant in the SR.