Cancer Survivorship Practices Among Cancer Care Providers and Cancer Centers in Brazil: Results From a National Survey.

Abstract

Cancer survivorship evolved over the past few years in developed countries although in developing countries, guidelines and evidence-based recommendations on survivorship care are still lacking. We sought to gather information on cancer survivorship practices in Brazil to identify assets and areas for improvement. Two surveys were developed regarding survivorship knowledge and the provision of services. Brazilian providers (physicians and nurses) and cancer center leaders received the surveys' invitation via WhatsApp groups of Brazilian oncology professionals. In addition, they were informed to share the study information with their networks (snowball sampling). The link to the surveys was advertised at Brazilian oncology conferences between August and December 2024. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the results. Between August 13 and December 17, 2024, 194 unique providers and 28 cancer center leaders responded to the online survey. Among providers, 70% considered a cancer survivor a patient who completed cancer treatment and has no evidence of disease. The majority (60%) reported never consulting a survivorship guideline. The most common tool used to support survivors was a treatment summary (52.1%). Among cancer center leaders, 32.1% reported that their institutions have survivorship programs. The most common services offered to cancer survivors include medical follow-up, nutrition, and psychology services (100%), whereas reproductive medicine and sexual therapy were offered by 7.7% of cancer centers. Although 28.6% of the cancer center leaders reported that nurses specialized in oncology participate in follow-up care of cancer survivors who completed curative treatment, 14.9% of providers responded that these nurses are involved in survivorship follow-up. Cancer care providers and cancer centers from Brazil can benefit from culturally tailored survivorship guidelines to better address cancer survivors' needs.