Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cancer-Related Patient Encounters
Top Cited Papers
- 27 July 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics
- Vol. 4 (4), 657-665
- https://doi.org/10.1200/CCI.20.00068
Abstract
PURPOSE While there are studies under way to characterize the direct effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the care of patients with cancer, there have been few quantitative reports of the impact that efforts to control the pandemic have had on the normal course of cancer diagnosis and treatment encounters. METHODS We used the TriNetX platform to analyze 20 health care institutions that have relevant, up-to-date encounter data. Using this COVID and Cancer Research Network (CCRN), we compared cancer cohorts identified by querying encounter data pre-COVID (January 2019-April 2019) and current (January 2020-April 2020). Cohorts were generated for all patients with neoplasms (malignant, benign, in situ, and of unspecified behavior), with new incidence neoplasms (first encounter), with exclusively malignant neoplasms, and with new incidence malignant neoplasms. Data from a UK institution were similarly analyzed. Additional analyses were performed on patients with selected cancers, as well as on those having had cancer screening. RESULTS Clear trends were identified that suggest a significant decline in all current cohorts explored, with April 2020 displaying the largest decrease in the number of patients with cancer having encounters. Of the cancer types analyzed, lung, colorectal, and hematologic cancer cohorts exhibited smaller decreases in size in April 2020 versus 2019 (-39.1%, -39.9%, -39.1%, respectively) compared with cohort size decreases for breast cancer, prostate cancer, and melanoma (-47.7%, -49.1%, -51.8%, respectively). In addition, cancer screenings declined drastically, with breast cancer screenings dropping by -89.2% and colorectal cancer screenings by -84.5%. CONCLUSION Trends seen in the CCRN clearly suggest a significant decrease in all cancer-related patient encounters as a result of the pandemic. The steep decreases in cancer screening and patients with a new incidence of cancer suggest the possibility of a future increase in patients with later-stage cancer being seen initially as well as an increased demand for cancer screening procedures as delayed tests are rescheduled. (c) 2020 by American Society of Clinical OncologyThis publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:
- The COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium: A Collaborative Effort to Understand the Effects of COVID-19 on Patients with Cancer CommentCancer Cell, 2020
- Clinical impact of COVID-19 on patients with cancer (CCC19): a cohort studyThe Lancet, 2020
- Crowdsourcing a crisis response for COVID-19 in oncologyNature Cancer, 2020
- Managing Cancer Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Agility and Collaboration Toward a Common GoalJournal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 2020
- Using a Federated Network of Real-World Data to Optimize Clinical Trials OperationsJCO Clinical Cancer Informatics, 2018