TY - JOUR
T1 - Limited impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on colorectal cancer care in the Netherlands in 2020
AU - Meijer, Joyce
AU - Elferink, Marloes A.G.
AU - The COVID and Cancer Care-NL Consortium
AU - Vink, Geraldine R.
AU - Sijtsma, Femke P.C.
AU - Buijsen, Jeroen
AU - Nagtegaal, Iris D.
AU - Tanis, Pieter J.
AU - Wumkes, Miriam L.
AU - de Hingh, Ignace H.J.T.
AU - Siesling, Sabine
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors received support from ZonMw, project number: 10430022010014.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/9
Y1 - 2022/9
N2 - 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 1st peak. In conclusion, the impact on CRC care in the Netherlands was found to be limited. However, long-term effects cannot be precluded.
AB - 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 1st peak. In conclusion, the impact on CRC care in the Netherlands was found to be limited. However, long-term effects cannot be precluded.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85136532842&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00384-022-04209-4
DO - 10.1007/s00384-022-04209-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 35986108
AN - SCOPUS:85136532842
SN - 0179-1958
VL - 37
SP - 2013
EP - 2020
JO - International Journal of Colorectal Disease
JF - International Journal of Colorectal Disease
IS - 9
ER -
