Covid has had a ‘catastrophic’ impact on cancer treatments and ‘a crisis is brewing’, warned the World Health Organization.
Millions of people across Europe have seen their exams or treatment delayed due to the blocks put in place to control the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
As a result, many will start treatment later, when the disease is more advanced and more difficult to treat, meaning they are more likely to die or become disabled.
Dr Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said: ‘Due to travel restrictions and the enormous pressure on health systems to combat Covid-19, cancer services have been disrupted across the region, delaying significantly the diagnosis and treatment, directly impacting the chances of cure or survival for hundreds of thousands of cancer patients. ‘
Many more people will die in the coming years, especially from breast and bowel cancer, for which screening visits have been postponed, he said.
Dr. Kluge’s comments echo concerns raised last year by UK cancer charities, who said that shutting down patients in the spring would lead to a cancer time bomb.
Except for urgent appointments and emergency treatment, many hospital services were closed in the first block of 2020 in preparation for a sudden increase in patients from Covid. It took the NHS months to rebuild, and during that time, the number of people waiting for routine operations reached a record 4.46 million.
Macmillan’s Cancer Support has been sounding the alarm for months that hundreds of thousands of fewer consultations to discuss suspected cancer took place during the pandemic, meaning that an increasing number of people live undiagnosed.
Dr Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said that ‘cancer services have been disrupted across the WHO European region, significantly delaying diagnosis and treatment, directly impacting the chances of cure or survival for hundreds of thousands of cancer patients’
Public Health England data suggest that 14 percent fewer people than expected had radiation therapy for cancer this year, warned Macmillan Cancer Support. The drop in treatments and consultations is not because fewer people are getting cancer, but because they are not going to doctors or hospitals when they should be
Dr. Kluge said in his statement yesterday: ‘At the National Oncology Center in Kyrgyzstan, the number of cancers diagnosed in April last year fell by 90 percent, while in the Netherlands and Belgium, in the first block of 2020, it fell 30- 40 percent.
‘Delay in diagnosis and treatment in the UK is expected to result in an increase in the number of colorectal cancer deaths [bowel] cancer by 15 percent, and 9 percent for breast cancer in the next 5 years.
“A crisis of noncommunicable diseases, including cancer, is brewing, caused by the pandemic.”
Fears that Covid’s patients would overload NHS hospitals completely overwhelmed politicians last spring, when they saw wards in Italy filled with virus patients.
As a result, most “non-essential” medical care has been suspended so that the health service could direct its efforts towards preparing for the coronavirus.
Even patients who did not have their appointments or operations canceled were afraid to attend for fear of getting the coronavirus or putting extra pressure on the NHS.
A&E visits in England fell by about half in the first block – partly because people were staying at home and less likely to get hurt, and partly because some people were postponing medical care.
Since then, this has filtered into an increase in the number of people dying in their own homes.
While deaths outside of Covid in hospitals dropped to lower than average levels last year, deaths at home have increased. Experts say this may be because people avoid hospitals.
Macmillan Cancer Support said last month that the number of people who consulted a cancer specialist between March and November 2020 was 350,000 less than during the same period in 2019, a drop of 19 percent.
The number of people starting cancer treatment is also still significantly lower than the average.
Cancer services in the UK have been disrupted by the large number of people hospitalized with Covid-19. There are currently more than 30,000 people with the disease on hospital wards across the country
In November, the most recent NHS data, 1,200 fewer people than expected started cancer treatment – 25,074 compared to the usual 26,300.
And the number of people starting cancer treatment after a routine screening visit dropped 29 percent in 2019 to 1,337.
Screening appointments also had to be postponed, meaning that thousands of people missed their regular breast, cervical or bowel tests to detect cancer early, which is crucial to improving survival rates.
Public Health England data also showed that the number of people receiving radiation therapy for cancer fell 14% below the average during the crisis.
The drop in treatments and consultations is not because fewer people are getting cancer, but because they are not going to doctors or hospitals when they should be.
Macmillan chief policy officer Sara Bainbridge said: ‘It is critical that cancer does not become the “forgotten C” in this pandemic.
“We must see government action to ensure that cancer services are protected during the winter and this second wave.”
Dr. Kluge explained: ‘Some countries have experienced a shortage of cancer drugs, and many have seen a significant drop in new cancer diagnoses – even the most resource-rich countries.
“Oncology health personnel were in great demand even before the pandemic. The high cost of cancer drugs and treatments is a challenge for all countries, including high-income countries.
“Pre-existing inequalities are also growing because of the economic crisis, making it more difficult for many to adopt healthy behaviors or have access to prevention or care services.
“The impact of the pandemic on cancer in the Region is catastrophic. This made us realize the real human cost of neglecting a noncommunicable disease like cancer.
“This is our wake-up call, from grassroots to governments, to fight cancer together.”