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Pandemic Cancer Care Lag Cost Lives, Study Finds
5 Feb
Summary
- Pandemic disruptions worsened short-term cancer patient survival rates.
- Study found worse survival across various cancers diagnosed in 2020-2021.
- Healthcare system strain, not just COVID-19, likely a key factor.
Concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic would lead to increased cancer mortality appear to be validated by a recent study. Researchers found that patients diagnosed with cancer in 2020 and 2021 experienced worse short-term survival compared to those diagnosed in the pre-pandemic years of 2015-2019. This trend was observed across various cancer types and regardless of diagnosis stage.
The study, published in JAMA Oncology, highlights that while COVID-19 itself posed a risk to cancer patients, the disruptions to the healthcare system were likely a primary driver of these poorer outcomes. Postponed screenings and treatment access due to overwhelmed hospitals contributed to the grim findings.
While overall cancer death rates in the U.S. continued a long-term decline during the pandemic, this new research focuses on the immediate survival of newly diagnosed patients. The findings underscore the critical need to understand and mitigate the effects of public health crises on essential medical services to prepare for future events.
