Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cancer-Related Hospitalizations in Brazil

Author(s)

da Costa, Allini Mafra ^{[1, 2]} ; Ribeiro, Aline L. ^[3] ; Ribeiro, Adeylson G. ^[1] ; Gini, Andrea ^[2] ; Cabasag, Citadel ^[2] ; Reis, Rui M. ^{[4, 5, 6, 7]} ; Fregnani, Jose Humberto T. G. ^{[8, 7]} ; Soerjomataram, Isabelle ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Barretos Canc Hosp, Populat Based Canc Registry Barretos Reg, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Int Agcy Res Canc, Canc Surveillance Branch, 150 Cours Albert Thomas, F-69372 Lyon 08 - France

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Ctr Translat Res Oncol, Inst Canc Estado Sao Paulo, Hosp Clin, Fac Med, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] ICVS 3Bs PT Govt Associate Lab, Braga - Portugal

^[5] Barretos Canc Hosp, Mol Oncol Res Ctr, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[6] Univ Minho, Sch Med, Life & Hlth Sci Res Inst ICVS, Braga - Portugal

^[7] Barretos Canc Hosp, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[8] AC Camargo Canc Ctr, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: CANCER CONTROL; v. 28, JAN 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

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. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/22100-0 - Malignant neoplasms of the 18 cities of Barretos Regional Health District (RhD), Sao Paulo, Brazil: the importance of a population-based cancer registry
• Grantee: Adeylson Guimarães Ribeiro
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 16/16528-2 - Analysis of HPV-18 transcriptional activity during cell differentiation
• Grantee: Aline Lopes Ribeiro
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 18/22097-0 - Malignant neoplasms of the 18 cities of Barretos Regional Health District (RhD), Sao Paulo, Brazil: the importance of a population-based cancer registry
• Grantee: Allini Mafra da Costa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 19/21722-0 - Cancer survival on the northwest of São Paulo state, Brazil: a regional population-based study
• Grantee: Allini Mafra da Costa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 17/03787-2 - Malignant neoplasms of the 18 cities of Barretos regional health district (RhD), São Paulo, Brazil: the importance of a Population-Based Cancer Registry
• Grantee: José Humberto Tavares Guerreiro Fregnani
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants