Dificultades para el acceso al tratamiento del cáncer colorrectal en adultos mayores.
Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among older adults. Delays in diagnosis and treatment negatively impact survival outcomes. In Argentina, access barriers in this population have not been adequately characterized. Materials and methods: We conducted...
| Published in: | Medicina (Buenos Aires) Vol. 86; no. 1; pp. 99 - 113 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article |
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Medicina (Buenos Aires)
ene/feb2026
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lth&AN=192796609&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: lth uiTerm: 192796609 longDbName: MedicLatina uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00257680 50C2 jtl: Medicina (Buenos Aires) issn: 00257680 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: ene/feb2026 vid: 86 iid: 1 pid: 39353 pub: Medicina (Buenos Aires) artinfo: ui: 192796609 ppf: 99 ppct: 14 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 597KB tig: atl: Dificultades para el acceso al tratamiento del cáncer colorrectal en adultos mayores. aug: au: Pietracci, Lilian E. Meek Torres, Silvana Daher, Matías Izaguirre Germain, María Pía Caruso, Diego affil: Hospital Dr. César Milstein Unidad Docente Hospitalaria, Hospital Dr. César Milstein, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina su: Health services accessibility Cancer treatment Colorectal cancer Medical care Delayed diagnosis Older people Argentina sug: subj: Argentina Health services accessibility Cancer treatment Colorectal cancer Medical care Delayed diagnosis Older people keyword: Barriers to healthcare access Colorectal neoplasms Older adults Time-to-treatment Barreras de acceso a los servicios de salud Neoplasias colorrectales Personas mayores Tiempo de tratamiento ab: Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among older adults. Delays in diagnosis and treatment negatively impact survival outcomes. In Argentina, access barriers in this population have not been adequately characterized. Materials and methods: We conducted an ambispec tive cohort study including older adults diagnosed with CRC within the past five years. Telephone interviews were carried out to collect data on time intervals and perceived barriers across five stages of the diagnostic-therapeutic process (from symptom onset or screening to treatment initiation). Multivariable linear and logistic regression models were used to assess associations between sociodemographic factors, perceived barriers, and both total time to treatment and stage-specific delays. Results: A total of 225 participants were includ ed. The median time to treatment initiation was 6 months. Perception of barriers was significantly as sociated with a higher likelihood of delay in all stages analyzed. The most frequently reported barrier was accessibility -mainly difficulties in obtaining medi cal appointments- present throughout the care con tinuum. In later stages, resource shortages were also reported. Female sex was associated with longer time to treatment. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the need for struc tural health system interventions aimed at reducing treatment delays in older adults with CRC. Identifying and addressing perceived barriers could enhance equity and efficiency in access to oncological care. Time to treatment exceeded internationally recommended stan dards. Perceived barriers were present in all stages and were significantly associated with delays in care delivery. Introducción: El cáncer colorrectal (CCR) es una cau sa importante de mortalidad en personas mayores. La demora en su diagnóstico y tratamiento se asocia con peor pronóstico. En Argentina, las barreras en el acceso a la atención en esta población no han sido adecuada mente caracterizadas. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio de cohor te ambispectiva en personas mayores con CCR diagnos ticado en los últimos cinco años. Mediante entrevistas telefónicas se recabó información sobre tiempos y barre ras en cinco etapas del proceso diagnóstico-terapéutico (desde la aparición de síntomas o tamizaje hasta el inicio del tratamiento). Se utilizaron modelos multivaria dos de regresión lineal y logística para explorar factores asociados al tiempo total al tratamiento y a las demoras en cada etapa. Resultados: Se incluyeron 225 participantes. La me diana de tiempo desde el diagnóstico hasta el tratamien to fue de 6 meses. La percepción de barreras se asoció significativamente con mayor probabilidad de demora en todas las etapas. La accesibilidad, especialmente las dificultades para obtener turnos médicos, fue la barrera más reportada. En etapas finales se agregaron obstáculos relacionados con la escasez de recursos. El género feme nino se asoció con un mayor tiempo total al tratamiento. Conclusión: Los hallazgos destacan la necesidad de intervenciones estructurales que mejoren la equidad y reduzcan los tiempos de acceso al tratamiento on cológico en adultos mayores. El tiempo al tratamiento superó lo recomendado por estándares internacionales. Las barreras estuvieron presentes a lo largo de todo el proceso y se asociaron con demoras asistenciales. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: Spanish refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Medicina (Buenos Aires) is the property of Medicina (Buenos Aires) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Medicina (Buenos Aires) holder: Medicina (Buenos Aires) dt: @attributes: year: 2026 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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