Dataset Information

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis, stage, and treatment of esophagogastric cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire global healthcare system, including oncological care. This study investigated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis, stage, and treatment of esophagogastric cancer in the Netherlands.

Methods

Patients diagnosed in 2020 were divided into 5 periods, based on the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands, and compared to patients diagnosed in the same period in the years 2017-2019. Patient characteristics and treatments were evaluated for esophageal cancer (EC) and gastric cancer (GC) separately.

Results

The number of esophagogastric cancer diagnoses decreased prominently during the first 2 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, a significantly higher percentage of GC patients was diagnosed with incurable disease (52.5% in 2017-2019 and 67.7% in 2020, p = 0.011). We observed a significant reduction in the percentage of patients with potentially curable EC treated with resection and neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (from 35.0% in 2017-2019 to 27.3% in 2020, p < 0.001). Also, patients diagnosed with incurable GC were treated less frequently with a resection (from 4.6% in 2017-2019 to 1.5% in 2020, p = 0.009) in the second half of 2020.

Conclusions

Compared to previous years, the number of esophagogastric cancer diagnoses decreased in the first 2 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, while an increased percentage of patients was diagnosed with incurable disease. Both in the curative and palliative setting, patients were less likely to be treated with a surgical resection.

SUBMITTER: Doeve BH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10522512 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis, stage, and treatment of esophagogastric cancer.

Doeve Benthe H BH Bakx Jeanne A C JAC Siersema Peter D PD Rosman Camiel C van Grieken Nicole C T NCT van Berge Henegouwen Mark I MI van Sandick Johanna W JW Verheij Marcel M Bijlsma Maarten F MF Verhoeven Rob H A RHA van Laarhoven Hanneke W M HWM

Journal of gastroenterology 20230731 10

<h4>Background</h4>The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire global healthcare system, including oncological care. This study investigated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis, stage, and treatment of esophagogastric cancer in the Netherlands.<h4>Methods</h4>Patients diagnosed in 2020 were divided into 5 periods, based on the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands, and compared to patients diagnosed in the same period in the years 2017-2019. Patient characteris ...[more]

PMID: 37523094

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Dataset Information

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis, stage, and treatment of esophagogastric cancer.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis, stage, and treatment of esophagogastric cancer.

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