Accident and social security benefits granted to cancer patients in Brazil, 2008-2014

This article aims to describe the distribution of cancer among the benefits granted by the General Social Security Registry, from 2008 to 2014, in Brazil. Ecological study using data given by the National Social Security Institute. The proportion of accidental (work-related) and social security (general) benefits granted by cancer in Brazil was determined, among the benefits granted for all causes, and a spatial analysis was conducted to assess the geographical distribution of these proportions, with the states Brazilians as a unit of analysis. Cancer was the reason for granting 533,438 benefits (2.9% of the total benefits granted for all causes), with a predominance of females in social security benefits (53.7%) and males in accidental benefits (71.6 %). The highest proportions of social security benefits for cancer occurred in North and Midwest regions. In 19 of the 26 Brazilian states (including all states in the southern region) and in the Federal District, there was no granting of accident benefits for cancer. The analysis of the occurrences of cancer that generated benefit concessions suggests a disproportionality in granting of social security benefits in relation to accident workers, mainly in North, Northeast and South regions of Brazil.