Impact of COVID-19 and Socioeconomic Factors on Delays in High-Risk MRI Breast Cancer Screening

Teng, Helena; Dang, Wilfred; Curpen, Belinda

doi:10.3390/tomography8050182

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…One of the most significant impacts of the pandemic has been the reduction in available medical resources, including healthcare professionals, medical supplies, and hospital beds. The pandemic has also led to delays in diagnostic tests, imaging studies, and surgeries, resulting in longer wait times for the patients (Teglia et al 2022 ; Mazidimoradi et al 2021 ; Teng et al 2022 ; Dorri et al 2021 ). Moreover, the pandemic has discouraged many people from visiting cancer treatment facilities for fear of contracting the virus (Muka et al 2023 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of and factors associated with a treatment delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic in patients with gastrointestinal cancer in Europe

Roderburg

Loosen

Leyh

et al. 2023

J Cancer Res Clin Oncol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Recent studies have raised the issue of delayed cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the extent of delays and cancellations in cancer treatment, screening and diagnosis varied widely by geographic region and study design, highlighting the need for further research. Methods We used the Oncology Dynamics (OD) database featuring data from a cross-sectional, partially retrospective survey to analyze treatment delays in 30,171 GI cancer patients from five European countries (Germany, France, UK, Spain, and Italy). Risk factors for treatment delays were identified using multivariable logistic regression models. Results Treatment delays were documented in 1342 (4.5%) of the study patients, with most patients having a delay of less than 3 months (3.2%). We observed decisive differences of treatment delay in relation to geographical, healthcare- and patient-related factors. Treatment delay was highest in France (6.7%) and Italy (6.5%) and lowest in Spain (1.9%, p < 0.001). 5.9% of patients treated at general hospitals but only 1.9% of those treated by office-based physicians experienced treatment delays (p < 0.001). Moreover, the difference between lines of therapy was highly significant and ranged from 7.2% for early-stage patients in primary therapy to 2.6% in advanced/metastatic cancer patients receiving 4th or later line therapy (p < 0.001). Finally, the proportion of cases with delayed treatments increased from 3.5% in asymptomatic patients (ECOG 0) to 9.9% in bedridden patients (ECOG IV, p < 0.001). Results were confirmed in multivariable logistic regression models. Summary Our data highlight the problem of delayed treatment of tumor patients in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Identified risk factors for delayed treatment, such as poor general health or treatment in smaller hospitals, offer starting points for future concepts of “pandemic preparedness”.

show abstract