Breast Cancer Treatment Delay in SafetyNet Health Systems, Houston Versus Southeast Brazil.

Background: Breast cancer outcomes among patients who use safety-net hospitals in the highly populated Harris County, Texas and Southeast Brazil are poor. It is unknown whether treatment delay contributes to these outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of patients with non-metastatic breast cancer diagnosed between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2011 at Harris Health Texas and Unicamp's Women's Hospital, Barretos Hospital, and Brazilian National Institute of Cancer, Brazil.