Comparison of oncological care in a hospital center before and after the integration of specialized oncology services.

Background: Cancer represents a continuous challenge for global public health, with steadily increasing incidence and mortality rates.

Methods: This manuscript presents a comprehensive and retrospective analysis of oncological care in a hospital, evaluating quality indicators after the introduction of a specialized oncology service at the center. Initially, it was implemented partially and then fully, allowing for the comparison of three different periods: without service, with partial service, and with full service. The data used was obtained from the TumorRegistry of the Costa del Sol Hospital (HTRCSH).

Results: Throughout this study, significant improvements were identified in various indicators, such as a reduction in the percentage of patients admitted through the emergency service (p=0.001), the percentage of primary cancers of unknown origin (p=0.006), and the percentage of cancers with regional extension (p=0.004). Additionally, there was a notable increase in the percentage of inclusion of the complete tumor stage information in the patient's medical record (p=0.004), the percentage of patients receiving adjuvant treatment (p=0.001), and the percentage of patients with an intention for radical treatment (p=0.007).

Conclusions: These results underscore the importance of oncology services in improving care for cancer patients. Despite the limitations, our study highlights important areas for future research, which will be addressed through additional data collection and more detailed analyses.