Abstract
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a dramatic impact on cancer diagnosis and treatment. Most patients newly diagnosed with digestive system cancer are aged 65 and over.
Methods: We performed a retrospective, observational, multicentre cohort study based on prospectively collected electronic health records. All adults aged 65 or over and having been newly treated for a digestive system cancer between January 2018 until August 2020 were enroled.
Results: Data on 7882 patients were analysed. The first COVID-19 lockdown period led to a 42.4% decrease in newly treated digestive system cancers, and the post-lockdown period was associated with a 17% decrease. The decrease in newly treated digestive system cancer did not differ as a function of age, sex, comorbidities, primary tumour site, and disease stage. The proportion of patients admitted to an emergency department increased during the lockdown period. We do not observe a higher 3-month mortality rate in 2020, relative to the corresponding calendar periods in 2018 and 2019.
Conclusion: To avoid a decrease in newly treated cancers during future lockdown periods, access to healthcare will have to be modified. Although 3-month mortality did not increase in any of the patient subgroups, the 2020 cohort must be followed up for long-term mortality.
Keywords: COVID-19; Digestive cancer; Lockdown; Older patients; Public health.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, lockdown, public health., older patients, Digestive cancer, 【초록키워드】 Treatment, coronavirus disease, pandemic, Mortality, Cancer, Comorbidities, Sex, cohort study, Cohort, Health, cancers, healthcare, Patient, age, multicentre, mortality rate, retrospective, Electronic health records, digestive system, subgroups, disease stage, cancer diagnosis, Public, decrease, observé, not differ, performed, collected, proportion, the patient, diagnosed, Most patient, analysed, treated, increase in, 【제목키워드】 Cancer, cohort study, older patient, multicentre, First wave, Care, digestive system, Effect,