INVESTIGATION OF SELECTED QUALITY INDICATOR DATA OF GASTRIC AND COLORECTAL CANCERS IN THE COLOMBIAN NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM IN COMPARISON TO THE U.S

Background: The Colombian Office of High Cost (Cuenta de Cuesto, CAC in Spanish) created a National Administrative Cancer Registry (NACR) to obtain comprehensive quality indicator data to guide Colombian cancer healthcare delivery (1). We investigated selected NACR data on gastric cancer (GC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) in comparison to similar studies in the U.S. Materials and Method: We obtained NACR data compiled from the Department of Health Ministry in Colombia regarding GC and CRC from 2014- 2015 aggregated by the CAC. Results: Data showed a prevalence of 12.5 cases per 100,000 people for GC and a prevalence of 21.2 cases per 100,000 for CRC. The median number of days from clinical suspicion to diagnosis was 47 for 1,562 patients with GC (IQR=23-93) and 47 for 1,969 patients with CRC (IQR=22-95). The median number of days from diagnosis to surgery was 37 in those with GC (IQR=22-66) and 47 in those with CRC (IQR=24-102). National Cancer Data in the U.S. in 2003-2005 of 1,443 hospitals showed the median number of days from diagnosis to surgery at the same hospital was 12 (IQR=4-25) and 21 (IQR=12-33) at a different hospital for colon counter and the median number of days from diagnosis to surgery at the same hospital was 19 (IQR=8-35) and 31(IQR=19-49) at a different hospital for GC (2). In total, 54.4% of patients with GC (n=850) and 52.7% of those with CRC (n=1,038) received chemotherapy. In comparison, a recent study using the IMS Oncology Database showed that 44.6% of 5,257 registered patients with GC in the U.S. were documented as receiving chemotherapy between 2004-2012 (3). Conclusion: Initial NACR comparisons with studies from the U.S. show similar rates of chemotherapy treatment, but a slower efficiency of delivery. More long-term comprehensive data collection nationwide needs to be performed. This model of data collection serves as a promising example for other developing countries to help control cancer burden.