TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cancer-Related Hospitalizations in Brazil
AU - Mafra da Costa, Allini
AU - Ribeiro, Aline L.
AU - Ribeiro, Adeylson G.
AU - Gini, Andrea
AU - Cabasag, Citadel
AU - Reis, Rui M.
AU - Fregnani, José Humberto T.G.
AU - Soerjomataram, Isabelle
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study had financial support from the São Paulo Government (São Paulo Research Foundation – FAPESP through the grants numbers 2019/21722-0, 2018/22097-0, 2018/22100-0, 2017/03787-2, and 2016/16528-2. RMR is a recipient of a CNPq Productivity fellowship.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Background: Alongside the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, Brazil also faces an ongoing rise in cancer burden. In 2020, there were approximately 592 000 new cancer cases and 260 000 cancer deaths. Considering the heterogeneities across Brazil, this study aimed to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer-related hospital admissions at a national and regional level. Methods: The national, regional, and state-specific monthly average of cancer-related hospital admission rates per 100 000 inhabitants and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated from March to July (2019: pre-COVID-19; and 2020: COVID-19 period). Thematic maps were constructed to compare the rates between periods and regions. Results: Cancer-related hospital admissions were reduced by 26% and 28% for clinical and surgical purposes, respectively. In Brazil, the average hospitalization rates decreased from 13.9 in 2019 to 10.2 in 2020 per 100,000 inhabitants, representing a rate difference of −3.7 (per 100,000 inhabitants; 95% CI: −3.9 to −3.5) for cancer-related (clinical) hospital admissions. Surgical hospital admissions showed a rate decline of −5.8 per 100,000 (95% CI: −6.0 to −5.5). The reduction in cancer-related admissions for the surgical procedure varies across regions ranging between −2.2 and −10.8 per 100 000 inhabitants, with the most significant decrease observed in the south and southeastern Brazil. Conclusions: We observed a substantial decrease in cancer-related hospital admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic with marked differences across regions. Delays in treatment may negatively impact cancer survival in the future; hence, cancer control strategies to mitigate the impact are needed.
AB - Background: Alongside the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, Brazil also faces an ongoing rise in cancer burden. In 2020, there were approximately 592 000 new cancer cases and 260 000 cancer deaths. Considering the heterogeneities across Brazil, this study aimed to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer-related hospital admissions at a national and regional level. Methods: The national, regional, and state-specific monthly average of cancer-related hospital admission rates per 100 000 inhabitants and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated from March to July (2019: pre-COVID-19; and 2020: COVID-19 period). Thematic maps were constructed to compare the rates between periods and regions. Results: Cancer-related hospital admissions were reduced by 26% and 28% for clinical and surgical purposes, respectively. In Brazil, the average hospitalization rates decreased from 13.9 in 2019 to 10.2 in 2020 per 100,000 inhabitants, representing a rate difference of −3.7 (per 100,000 inhabitants; 95% CI: −3.9 to −3.5) for cancer-related (clinical) hospital admissions. Surgical hospital admissions showed a rate decline of −5.8 per 100,000 (95% CI: −6.0 to −5.5). The reduction in cancer-related admissions for the surgical procedure varies across regions ranging between −2.2 and −10.8 per 100 000 inhabitants, with the most significant decrease observed in the south and southeastern Brazil. Conclusions: We observed a substantial decrease in cancer-related hospital admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic with marked differences across regions. Delays in treatment may negatively impact cancer survival in the future; hence, cancer control strategies to mitigate the impact are needed.
KW - Brazil
KW - COVID-19
KW - SUS
KW - cancer
KW - coronavirus
KW - hospital admission
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85113143268&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34406894
U2 - 10.1177/10732748211038736
DO - 10.1177/10732748211038736
M3 - Article
C2 - 34406894
AN - SCOPUS:85113143268
SN - 1073-2748
VL - 28
JO - Cancer Control
JF - Cancer Control
ER -