Limited impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on colorectal cancer care in the Netherlands in 2020

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the health services worldwide. We aimed to investigate the impact of the pandemic on colorectal cancer (CRC) care in the Netherlands in 2020. Methods: CRC patients, diagnosed in 2018–2020 in the Netherlands, were selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR). The year 2020 was divided in four periods reflecting COVID-19 developments in the Netherlands (pre-COVID, 1st peak, recovery period, 2nd peak) and compared with the same periods in 2018/2019. Patient characteristics and treatment were compared using the Chi-squared test. Median ti... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Meijer, Joyce
Elferink, Marloes A.G.
Vink, Geraldine R.
Sijtsma, Femke P.C.
Buijsen, Jeroen
Nagtegaal, Iris D.
Tanis, Pieter J.
Wumkes, Miriam L.
de Hingh, Ignace H.J.T.
Siesling, Sabine
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2022
Reihe/Periodikum: Meijer , J , Elferink , M A G , The COVID and Cancer Care-NL Consortium , Vink , G R , Sijtsma , F P C , Buijsen , J , Nagtegaal , I D , Tanis , P J , Wumkes , M L , de Hingh , I H J T & Siesling , S 2022 , ' Limited impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on colorectal cancer care in the Netherlands in 2020 ' , International Journal of Colorectal Disease , vol. 37 , no. 9 , pp. 2013-2020 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-022-04209-4
Schlagwörter: /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/good_health_and_well_being / name=SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27227283
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://pure.eur.nl/en/publications/eb14cba0-9ed1-4049-8576-0064669a00f4

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the health services worldwide. We aimed to investigate the impact of the pandemic on colorectal cancer (CRC) care in the Netherlands in 2020. Methods: CRC patients, diagnosed in 2018–2020 in the Netherlands, were selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR). The year 2020 was divided in four periods reflecting COVID-19 developments in the Netherlands (pre-COVID, 1st peak, recovery period, 2nd peak) and compared with the same periods in 2018/2019. Patient characteristics and treatment were compared using the Chi-squared test. Median time between diagnosis and treatment, and between (neo)adjuvant therapy and surgery were analyzed by the Mann–Whitney U test. Results: In total, 38,021 CRC patients were diagnosed in 2018/2019 (n = 26,816) and 2020 (n = 11,205). Median time between diagnosis and initial treatment decreased on average 4 days and median time between neoadjuvant radiotherapy and surgery in clinical stage II or III rectal cancer patients increased on average 34 days during the three COVID-19 periods compared to the same periods of 2018/2019. The proportion of colon cancer patients that underwent elective surgery significantly decreased with 3.0% during the 1st peak. No differences were found in the proportion of patients who received (neo)adjuvant therapy, systemic therapy, or no anti-cancer treatment. Conclusion: Only minor changes in the care for CRC patients occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly during the 1 st peak. In conclusion, the impact on CRC care in the Netherlands was found to be limited. However, long-term effects cannot be precluded.