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 Research by the health data firm Komodo Health and exclusively
shared with Reuters found new colorectal cancer diagnoses declined
more than 32%, while the number of performed colonoscopies and
biopsies fell by nearly 90% from mid-March to mid-April, compared
with the same period last year. Colorectal cancer surgeries were
down by 53%.
The findings are particularly alarming because colorectal cancer is
the nation’s second-leading cause of cancer deaths, according to the
American Cancer Society.
Screenings have shown to be critical in curbing the disease. Since
1970, screenings helped to reduce death rates by over 50%, according
to the Society. If colorectal cancer is found early, the five-year
survival rate is near 90%.
The drop in surgeries suggests many patients who were newly
diagnosed with colon cancer postponed procedures, enhancing their
risk that the cancer could progress as the shelter-in-place orders
that swept the nation in March shuttered health facilities and as
patients avoided in-person appointments due to fear of contracting
the virus. Medical facilities are slowly reopening, but wait times
to reschedule appointments may extend into the summer and fall.
“Some surgeries can be postponed by a little bit, but this was
certainly striking,” said Dr. Al Benson, a gastrointestinal
oncologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. “This will continue
to be a challenge, because as the pandemic begins to subside and we
begin to schedule more normally, there’s going to be a lot of
catch-up. We don’t want people to further postpone screenings, and
we certainly don’t want to postpone surgeries.”
The new findings come from an analysis of San Francisco-based
Komodo’s 320 million healthcare billing records, one of the largest
medical claims databases in the country. It compared weekly clinical
volumes from mid-March to mid-April.
Komodo worked jointly with Fight Colorectal Cancer, a colorectal
cancer advocacy and research organization, which surveyed 222
patients about their care during the pandemic. The majority of
respondents reported feeling nervous or anxious.
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For patients with a family history of aggressive colorectal cancer, delayed or
canceled appointments are especially worrisome. Healthcare providers should
prioritize high-risk patients when rescheduling appointments, the study’s
authors recommended.
Carole Motycka, 46, of Wolcott, Connecticut, was diagnosed with colon cancer
four years ago. Two of her sons have the same genetic mutation that puts them at
high risk for the disease, and all three were due for screenings earlier this
year. But her sons could not get appointments, and her doctors suggested not
risking a trip to The Cleveland Clinic for her quarterly checkup.
Motycka said she is most concerned for her sons delaying “the screening that can
essentially save their lives.”
Past screenings uncovered pre-cancerous polyps in her 24-year-old son. After a
special appeal, he got an appointment two weeks ago, but months late. Her other
son, 25, who has had benign polyps removed, is still waiting for an appointment,
she said.
“If we know something is there, then we can eliminate it right away and be
comfortable knowing we can address it before it turns into a difficult
situation,” Motycka said.
Patients in rural communities more often faced disrupted cancer treatments (14%
of rural patients versus 2.7% in urban areas) and required more financial
support (36% rural versus 18% in suburban areas), the report found.
These findings follow prior research showing preventive care essential for
detecting and treating disease fell precipitously, starting in March.
Diagnostic tests, physician visits and surgeries are also key sources of revenue
for hospitals and healthcare systems. But they curbed lucrative elective
procedures to assure room for COVID-19 patients and prevent infection in others,
incurring millions of dollars in losses.00:
(Reporting by Robin Respaut in San Francisco and Deborah J. Nelson in Maryland;
Editing by Dan Grebler)
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