The Effects of COVID-19 on Cancer Care Provision: A Systematic Review

Alom, Samiha; Chiu, Chun Ming; Jha, Ashwarya; Lai, Sheung Heng Daniel; Yau, Thomas Ho Lai; Harky, Amer

doi:10.1177/1073274821997425

Cited by 26 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 82 publications

(594 reference statements)

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“…The ability to provide cancer services during the pandemic has been affected in several ways. 15 Many oncology centres have restructured their services to create COVID-19 units. There have been reductions in staffing due to re-deployment, infection, quarantine, or as a deliberate staff-sparing strategy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 on cancer care in India: a cohort study

Ranganathan

Sengar

Chinnaswamy

et al. 2021

The Lancet Oncology

120

112

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted health-care systems, leading to concerns about its subsequent impact on non-COVID disease conditions. The diagnosis and management of cancer is time sensitive and is likely to be substantially affected by these disruptions. We aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer care in India. MethodsWe did an ambidirectional cohort study at 41 cancer centres across India that were members of the National Cancer Grid of India to compare provision of oncology services between March 1 and May 31, 2020, with the same time period in 2019. We collected data on new patient registrations, number of patients visiting outpatient clinics, hospital admissions, day care admissions for chemotherapy, minor and major surgeries, patients accessing radiotherapy, diagnostic tests done (pathology reports, CT scans, MRI scans), and palliative care referrals. We also obtained estimates from participating centres on cancer screening, research, and educational activities (teaching of postgraduate students and trainees). We calculated proportional reductions in the provision of oncology services in 2020, compared with 2019. FindingsBetween March 1 and May 31, 2020, the number of new patients registered decreased from 112 270 to 51 760 (54% reduction), patients who had follow-up visits decreased from 634 745 to 340 984 (46% reduction), hospital admissions decreased from 88 801 to 56 885 (36% reduction), outpatient chemotherapy decreased from 173634 to 109 107 (37% reduction), the number of major surgeries decreased from 17 120 to 8677 (49% reduction), minor surgeries from 18 004 to 8630 (52% reduction), patients accessing radiotherapy from 51 142 to 39 365 (23% reduction), pathological diagnostic tests from 398 373 to 246 616 (38% reduction), number of radiological diagnostic tests from 93 449 to 53 560 (43% reduction), and palliative care referrals from 19 474 to 13 890 (29% reduction). These reductions were even more marked between April and May, 2020. Cancer screening was stopped completely or was functioning at less than 25% of usual capacity at more than 70% of centres during these months. Reductions in the provision of oncology services were higher for centres in tier 1 cities (larger cities) than tier 2 and 3 cities (smaller cities).Interpretation The COVID-19 pandemic has had considerable impact on the delivery of oncology services in India. The long-term impact of cessation of cancer screening and delayed hospital visits on cancer stage migration and outcomes are likely to be substantial.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 on cancer care in India: a cohort study

Ranganathan

Sengar

Chinnaswamy

et al. 2021

The Lancet Oncology

120

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This has the advantage of improved ease of attendance for participants, but with mixed results in regard to efficiency because of potential audiovisual sharing difficulties and delays in supporting information like pathology slides and imaging. (4,281) The rapid and successful deployment of virtual medicine has transformed cancer care and will likely become a permanent aspect of its delivery, although this outcome is highly dependent on regulatory decisions.…”

Section: Telehealthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning through a Pandemic: The Current State of Knowledge on COVID-19 and Cancer

Elkrief¹,

Wu²,

Jani³

et al. 2021

Cancer Discov

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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has left patients with current or past history of cancer facing disparate consequences at every stage of the cancer trajectory. This comprehensive review offers a landscape analysis of the current state of the literature on COVID-19 and cancer including the immune response to COVID-19, risk factors for severe disease, and impact of anticancer therapies. We also review the latest data on treatment of COVID-19 and vaccination safety and efficacy in patients with cancer, as well as impact of the pandemic on cancer care, including the urgent need for rapid evidence generation and realworld study designs.

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“…Oral chemotherapy may be another good way of avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions (54). For patients who require urgent malignancy treatment, proper isolation measures should be considered, such as reducing chemotherapy intensity, decreasing the frequency of cancer care sessions, or establishing off-site cancer care facilities (55). The most important and effective strategy to prevent COVID-19 is "social distancing," the primary intervention to reduce the spread of this infection.…”

Section: Preventive Measures Against Sars-cov-2 Infection In Cancer Patientsmentioning

confidence: 99%