Your browser doesn't support javascript.
Decrease in the number of patients diagnosed with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.
Jacob, Louis; Kalder, Matthias; Kostev, Karel.
  • Jacob L; Research and Development Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu/CIBERSAM, Dr. Antoni Pujadas, 42, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
  • Kalder M; Faculty of Medicine, University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, 78180, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France.
  • Kostev K; Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Philipps University of Marburg, 35037, Marburg, Germany.
J Cancer Res Clin Oncol ; 148(11): 3117-3123, 2022 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1633539
ABSTRACT

PURPOSE:

Little is known on how coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted cancer diagnosis in Germany since the first lockdown in March 2020. Therefore, this retrospective study aimed to compare the number of patients newly diagnosed with cancer in general and specialized practices in Germany between April 2020-March 2021 and April 2019-March 2020.

METHODS:

Patients aged ≥ 18 years with at least 1 visit to 1 of 1403 general and specialized practices in Germany in April 2020-March 2021 (n = 3,804,596) and April 2019-March 2020 (n = 3,913,386) were included in this retrospective study. Specialized practices were composed of gynecology, dermatology and urology practices. Cancer diagnoses included all types of cancer documented using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10 codes C00-C97). The number of patients newly diagnosed with cancer per practice was compared between April 2020-March 2021 and April 2019-March 2020 using Wilcoxon tests.

RESULTS:

There were 126,379 and 138,996 patients diagnosed with cancer in April 2020-March 2021 and April 2019-March 2020, respectively. The number of patients diagnosed with cancer decreased in all types of practice, and this decrease was significant in general practices (- 7.1%, p value = 0.038). In terms of cancer type, this decrease was particularly pronounced for skin cancers (- 12.8%, p value = 0.025).

CONCLUSION:

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with a decrease in the number of patients newly diagnosed with cancer in general and specialized practices in Germany. Public health interventions are urgently warranted to mitigate the deleterious effects of this health crisis on cancer diagnosis.
Subject(s)
Keywords

Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: COVID-19 / Neoplasms Type of study: Diagnostic study / Observational study Limits: Humans Country/Region as subject: Europa Language: English Journal: J Cancer Res Clin Oncol Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: S00432-022-03922-5

Similar

MEDLINE

...
LILACS

LIS


Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: COVID-19 / Neoplasms Type of study: Diagnostic study / Observational study Limits: Humans Country/Region as subject: Europa Language: English Journal: J Cancer Res Clin Oncol Year: 2022 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: S00432-022-03922-5