SECAUCUS, N.J., Aug. 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- New diagnoses of
eight common types of cancer (prostate, breast, colorectal, lung,
pancreatic, cervical, gastric and esophageal) significantly
declined during most of the first 13 months of the pandemic (March
2020-March 2021), according to a
Health Trends® study from Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) published
today in JAMA Network Open. It is believed to be
the largest and most comprehensive analysis of cancer diagnosis
rates during the pandemic.
The study "Changes in Newly Identified Cancer Among U.S.
Patients from Before COVID-19 Through the First Full Year of the
Pandemic" is an analysis of Quest Diagnostics de-identified
laboratory data from 799,496 patients with diagnoses of cancer
during four-time periods defined to allow for comparison during
different phases of the pandemic: pre-pandemic (January 2019 to February
2020), pandemic period 1 (March to May 2020), pandemic period 2 (June to
October 2020), and pandemic period 3
(November 2020 to March 2021). It builds on research the Quest team
published in August 2020 in JAMA
Network Open that found a 46.4% decline in newly diagnosed
cases of six cancers from March 1 to April
18, 2020. The new analysis, expanded to include two
additional cancers, indicates that the double-digit declines in
cancer diagnoses observed during the early weeks of the pandemic
continued, although less dramatically, through much of 2020 and the
first three months of 2021 as compared to before the pandemic was
officially declared in March
2020.
The findings suggest that many individuals failed to receive
preventive or other forms of medical care, such as routine
screenings, that could have resulted in diagnosis of cancer during
the first year of the pandemic, even though restrictions to travel
and healthcare services generally lifted by Summer 2020. Cancer may
not cause symptoms in early stages, and patients may be unaware
that they have the disease without evaluation and testing. Delayed
cancer diagnosis can lead to more advanced disease, more aggressive
and costly treatment, and worse outcomes.
These three pandemic periods correlate with the winter and
summer season months when COVID-19 cases were at their highest
rates. Even when travel and healthcare service access resumed, many
Americans continued to avoid in-person healthcare appointments due
to fear of exposure.
"The significant decline in cancer diagnoses revealed by our
Health Trends analysis raises the concern that more Americans are
living with undiagnosed cancers because of the pandemic," said
Yuri Fesko, M.D., Medical Director,
Quest Diagnostics Oncology. "In the past years, we've made so many
therapeutic advances in cancer care, but if a cancer is not
diagnosed, we can't treat it. That's why it's important that
patients engage in regular preventive care, including cancer tests
and screenings, so that they have the best outcomes possible."
The investigators examined the mean monthly number of cancer
diagnoses versus the pre-pandemic period to provide averages per
period. They also evaluated ICD-10 medical diagnostic codes to
establish if prior service (screening, diagnostic test or
treatment) for cancer had occurred to identify if the diagnosis was
new.
Among the key findings:
- From March through May 2020, the
monthly number of new diagnoses fell 29.8% for the 8 cancer types:
breast, colorectal, lung, pancreatic, cervical, gastric,
esophageal, and prostate. Declines were significant for all cancer
types, ranging from breast (36.1%).to pancreatic (21.2%)
- From June through October 2020,
the monthly number of new diagnoses fell 9.6%, statistically the
same level as pre-pandemic for all cancers except prostate
- From November 2020 through
March 2021, the number of new cancer
diagnoses fell 19.1%
"Early screening, diagnosis and treatment for cancer is critical
to achieving the most favorable outcomes. Due to gaps in care
throughout the pandemic, we can expect a future wave of patients
presenting with cancer at more advanced stages of disease,"
Harvey W. Kaufman, M.D., Senior
Medical Director, Head of the Health Trends Research Program for
Quest Diagnostics. "Many of these patients, unfortunately, can
expect more aggressive therapy and care with less favorable
outcomes. We hope our study highlights the critical need for
Americans to get back to their doctors and seek preventive and
other forms of medical care without delay, so that potential
cancers and other medical concerns are detected and treated early,
when the best outcomes are possible."
One possible limitation of the study is lack of demographic data
on the patients, such as race/ethnicity or their access to care.
However, Health Trends research published in January 2021 by Quest Diagnostics found that one
in two White Americans (49%) surveyed in November 2020 were more likely to have seen a
doctor for any form of preventive care during the pandemic, as
compared to one in three Hispanic/Latinx (32%) and Black (33%)
Americans.
About Quest Diagnostics Health Trends®
Quest Diagnostics Health Trends® is a series of
scientific reports that provide insights into health topics, based
on analysis of objective clinical laboratory data, to empower
better patient care, population health management and public health
policy. The reports are based on the Quest Diagnostics database of
approximately 60 billion de-identified laboratory test results,
believed to be the largest of its kind in healthcare. Health Trends
has yielded novel insights to aid the management of allergies and
asthma, COVID-19, diabetes, heart disease, influenza, Lyme disease,
prescription drug misuse and workplace wellness. Quest Diagnostics
also produces the Drug Testing Index (DTI)™, a series of reports on
national workplace drug positivity trends based on the company's
employer workplace drug testing data.
www.QuestDiagnostics.com/HealthTrends
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to improve
health outcomes. Derived from the world's largest database of
clinical lab results, our diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to
identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve
health care management. Quest annually serves one in three adult
Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United
States, and our 50,000 employees understand that, in the right
hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can
inspire actions that transform lives. www.QuestDiagnostics.com
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