The COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in mortality of cancer patients in Brazil

Abstract

Objectives To analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mortality from all types and the five most common types of cancer in Brazil and investigate the relationship between the density of hospital beds and mortality from COVID-19 in cancer patients in Brazil’s Intermediate Geographic Regions (RGIs). Methods The Brazilian Mortality Information System provided data on the deaths from trachea, bronchus, and lung, colorectal, stomach, female breast, and prostate cancer and all types of cancer, and from COVID-19 in individuals who had cancer as a contributing cause of death. Death rates from the pandemic years (2020–2022) were compared to pre-pandemic ones. An association analysis, through multivariate linear regression, was carried out between mortality from COVID-19 in cancer patients, the rate of hospital beds per 100,000 inhabitants, and the Human Development Index of the 133 RGIs of Brazil. Results: In 2022, mortality from all cancers was higher than in 2019 (3.0%), as well as the mortality from colorectal (8.5%), female breast (5.2%), and prostate cancer (2.2%). Mortality from COVID-19 in cancer patients, which reached its peak in 2021 (6.0/100,000), was negatively associated with the density of hospital beds in the public health system. Conclusions: This study suggests an increase in mortality from cancer, especially the treatable ones, in 2022 as an impact of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the burden that the new disease imposed on health services. Also, the findings suggest a protective role of the availability of hospital care concerning deaths due to COVID-19 in cancer patients.