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The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted cancer treatment and caused new cancer diagnoses to be delayed, according to a study published in the journal CANCER.
The researchers, led by Dr Brajesh Lal, MD, of the Veterans Affairs (VA) Maryland Health Care System and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said the situation could lead to worse prognoses for patients.
Colonoscopies had the largest deficits across the country
For the study, the team examined data from more than 9 million US veterans at 1,244 VA medical facilities between 2018 and 2020.
During this two-year timeframe, there were nearly 4 million procedures used to diagnose cancer and more than 250,000 new cancers diagnosed.
In 2020, procedures to diagnose cancer were used less frequently and few new cancer diagnoses were found. In fact, new cancer diagnoses in 2020 decreased by 13% to 23%, depending on the cancer type.
The number of colonoscopies decreased by 45% compared to annual averages in 2018 and 2019, while prostate biopsies, chest computed tomography scans, and cystoscopies decreased by 29%, 10%, and 21%, respectively.
Colonoscopies had the largest deficits across the country. In nearly a third (29%) of states, fewer than half of colonoscopies were performed in 2020 compared with earlier years.
Disruption of non-emergency healthcare was “intentional and necessary”
The investigators created a chart that institutions, health systems, and states can use to determine the time and resources needed to increase diagnostic procedures in order to recover from the backlog created by the pandemic.
Dr Lal said: “The disruption in non-emergency healthcare during the peak of the pandemic was intentional and necessary. As we enter the recovery phase, we hope that our work will help physicians, hospitals, and health care organisations anticipate the extent to which they have fallen behind in their efforts to diagnose new cancers. It will also help them allocate requisite resources and time to re-engage with patients.”