OBJECTIVES: To explore a population-based cohort of stage III and IV non-small cell lung cancer patients (NSCLC) in Brazil, by describing clinical characteristics and its potential use for decision-making in the country.

METHODS: A population-based cohort study of 20,903 NSCLC patients (from 2000 to 2015) in Brazil was conducted using large databases, such as the National Cancer Registry and other sources. Data was analyzed with descriptive statistics (e.g.: age, sex, staging, treatment and time to initiate treatment). Outcomes (1 and 3-year overall mortality) were analyzed with Kaplan-Meier survival curve.

RESULTS: The sample was composed by males (65%), between 50 to 80 years old (83%). Most of the patients (62%) had less than elementary school level and were diagnosed with stage IV (63%) and stage IIIb (26%) NSCLC. In 12% of the cases, patients were submitted to tumor resection, 41% underwent radiotherapy and 70% received chemotherapy. In average, patients had to wait 1.4 (sd=0.2) months to start any of the aforementioned treatments, considering the first consultation as baseline. The median survival was 7 months. 1 and 3-year overall survival was 37% and 18%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: The median mortality, the time to initiate the treatment and the amount of stage IIIb and IV diagnostics suggest that there is room for improving cancer care in the country. Delays on identifying NSCLC and the time to initiate treatment might be affecting the morbidity and mortality rates. The use of NSCLC population-based data in Brazil will provide insights for policy-makers, payers and manufacturers, by describing the opportunities to improve health care structure, processes and being a benchmark to reduce mortality rates in the forthcoming years.