OBJECTIVES: Describe the situation of care for cancer patients in the Sistema Único de Saúde -SUS (Unified Health System) and the physical structure that Brazil has in the various regions of the country. METHODS: All the chemotherapies performed in Brazil in 2016 were analyzed regarding location and types of establishments in which they were made. We analyzed the coverage of the regions with number of establishments for every 100.000 people. All data was paired with population data collected from IBGE. The data regarding the performed chemotherapies was consulted in the Outpatient Information System and in the National Registry of Health Establishments, both within DATASUS. RESULTS: In 2016, Brazil performed more than 3 million chemotherapy procedures through SUS. The percentage of procedures performed and the number of chemotherapies per 1000 inhabitants for the Southeast, Northeast, South, Center-West and North regions were respectively: 47.46% and 17.08, 22.3% and 12.15, 22.0% and 23.27, 5.5% and 10.86 and 2.8% and 4.86. These procedures were performed in 283 different health care facilities spread across the 5 regions, 69.25% of which are located in the south and southeast regions. There were three types of establishments, the CACONs (High Complexity Oncology Assistance Centers), the UNACONs (High Complexity Assistance Units) and the centers with isolated cancer treatment services. There was a significant difference between the regions (from 1.05 establishments / 100,000 inhabitants in the northern region to 2.12 establishments / 100,000 inhabitants in the southern region) (ANOVA, p = 0.045). CONCLUSIONS: Brazil has a concentration of treatment centers and chemotherapies carried out in the south and southeast regions. Although all Brazilian States have cancer treatment centers, patients still have to travel long distances to obtain the chemotherapy treatment provided by SUS.