RetroSearch Browse

Home - News ( United States | United Kingdom | Italy | Germany ) - Football scores

Showing content from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33778794/ below:

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis and service access in New Zealand-a country pursuing COVID-19 elimination

doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100127. Epub 2021 Mar 22. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis and service access in New Zealand-a country pursuing COVID-19 elimination Elinor Millar¹, Alex Dunn¹, Ruth Pirie¹, Michelle Mako¹, John Manderson¹, Claire Hardie³, Chris G C A Jackson⁴, Richard North⁵, Myra Ruka⁶, Nina Scott⁶, Diana Sarfati¹

Affiliations

¹ Te Aho o Te Kahu - Cancer Control Agency, Molesworth St, Wellington, New Zealand.
² Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Mein St, Wellington, New Zealand.
³ Midcentral District Health Board, Ruahine Street, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
⁴ Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Great King St, Dunedin, New Zealand.
⁵ Bay of Plenty District Health Board, Cameron Rd, Tauranga, New Zealand.
⁶ Waikato District Health Board, Pembroke Street, Hamilton, New Zealand.

PMID: 33778794
PMCID: PMC7983868
DOI: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100127

Item in Clipboard

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis and service access in New Zealand-a country pursuing COVID-19 elimination

Jason K Gurney et al. Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2021 May.

doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100127. Epub 2021 Mar 22. Authors Jason K Gurney^{1 2}, Elinor Millar¹, Alex Dunn¹, Ruth Pirie¹, Michelle Mako¹, John Manderson¹, Claire Hardie³, Chris G C A Jackson⁴, Richard North⁵, Myra Ruka⁶, Nina Scott⁶, Diana Sarfati¹ Affiliations

¹ Te Aho o Te Kahu - Cancer Control Agency, Molesworth St, Wellington, New Zealand.
² Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Mein St, Wellington, New Zealand.
³ Midcentral District Health Board, Ruahine Street, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
⁴ Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Great King St, Dunedin, New Zealand.
⁵ Bay of Plenty District Health Board, Cameron Rd, Tauranga, New Zealand.
⁶ Waikato District Health Board, Pembroke Street, Hamilton, New Zealand.

PMID: 33778794
PMCID: PMC7983868
DOI: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100127

Item in Clipboard

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted cancer services globally. New Zealand has pursued an elimination strategy to COVID-19, reducing (but not eliminating) this disruption. Early in the pandemic, our national Cancer Control Agency (Te Aho o Te Kahu) began monitoring and reporting on service access to inform national and regional decision-making. In this manuscript we use high-quality, national-level data to describe changes in cancer registrations, diagnosis and treatment over the course of New Zealand's response to COVID-19.

Methods: Data were sourced (2018-2020) from national collections, including cancer registrations, inpatient hospitalisations and outpatient events. Cancer registrations, diagnostic testing (gastrointestinal endoscopy), surgery (colorectal, lung and prostate surgeries), medical oncology access (first specialist appointments [FSAs] and intravenous chemotherapy attendances) and radiation oncology access (FSAs and megavoltage attendances) were extracted. Descriptive analyses of count data were performed, stratified by ethnicity (Indigenous Māori, Pacific Island, non-Māori/non-Pacific).

Findings: Compared to 2018-2019, there was a 40% decline in cancer registrations during New Zealand's national shutdown in March-April 2020, increasing back to pre-shutdown levels over subsequent months. While there was a sharp decline in endoscopies, pre-shutdown volumes were achieved again by August. The impact on cancer surgery and medical oncology has been minimal, but there has been an 8% year-to-date decrease in radiation therapy attendances. With the exception of lung cancer, there is no evidence that existing inequities in service access between ethnic groups have been exacerbated by COVID-19.

Interpretation: The impact of COVID-19 on cancer care in New Zealand has been largely mitigated. The New Zealand experience may provide other agencies or organisations with a sense of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer services within a country that has actively pursued elimination of COVID-19.

Funding: Data were provided by New Zealand's Ministry of Health, and analyses completed by Te Aho o Te Kahu staff.

Keywords: COVID; COVID-19; Cancer; Cancer registration; Cancer services; Cancer treatment; Coronavirus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures
Fig. 1

Total number of cancer registrations…

Fig. 1

Total number of cancer registrations by month and year (top), alongside the cumulative…

Fig. 1

Total number of cancer registrations by month and year (top), alongside the cumulative number of cancer registrations (bottom), for the total population and stratified by ethnicity.

Fig. 2

The number of gastroscopies and…

Fig. 2

The number of gastroscopies and colonoscopies performed over 2020 compared to 2018–2019, by…

Fig. 2

The number of gastroscopies and colonoscopies performed over 2020 compared to 2018–2019, by month and year (top) as well as cumulative total (bottom), for the total population and stratified by ethnicity.

Fig. 3

Combined number of prostate, colorectal…

Fig. 3

Combined number of prostate, colorectal and lung surgeries performed over 2020 compared to…

Fig. 3

Combined number of prostate, colorectal and lung surgeries performed over 2020 compared to 2018–2019, by month (top) as well as cumulative total (bottom), for the total population and stratified by ethnicity.

Fig. 4

The number of intravenous (IV)…

Fig. 4

The number of intravenous (IV) chemotherapy attendances over 2020 compared to 2018–2019, by…

Fig. 4

The number of intravenous (IV) chemotherapy attendances over 2020 compared to 2018–2019, by month (top) as well as cumulative total (bottom), for the total population and stratified by ethnicity.

Fig. 5

The number of radiation therapy…

Fig. 5

The number of radiation therapy attendances over 2020 compared to 2018–2019, by month…

Fig. 5

The number of radiation therapy attendances over 2020 compared to 2018–2019, by month (top) as well as cumulative total (bottom), for the total population and stratified by ethnicity.