tens of thousands prostate cancer Cases were missed during the chaos of the coronavirus pandemic.
These are the results of a new study published last month in BJU International.
Researchers from the University of Oxford and other UK universities analyzed a dataset of 285,160 participants from OpenSAFELY-TPP, a large nationally representative dataset of routine medical records.
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They focused on 165,410 men in the UK who were diagnosed with prostate cancer between January 2015 and July 2023.
In 2020, prostate cancer diagnoses decreased by 31% compared to the previous year.
Tens of thousands of prostate cancer cases were missed amid the chaos of the coronavirus pandemic, a new study has found. (St. Petersburg)
In 2021, it decreased by 18%.
By 2022, diagnosed cases have returned to expected levels.
“Given that our dataset represents 40% of the population, proportionately we estimate that 20,000 people have gone missing due to the pandemic. Diagnosis of prostate cancer only in the UK,” the researchers said in the study discussion.
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During that time, the age at diagnosis has shifted toward older adults.
“The increase in incidence recorded in 2023 was not sufficient to explain the missed cases,” the researchers also said. This means that diagnosis is still “catching up” to cases that did not gain attention in 2020 and 2021.
Based on these findings, the researchers recommend that health care providers focus on identifying affected men.
The number of prostate cancer diagnoses in 2020 decreased by 31% compared to the previous year, a new study has found. (St. Petersburg)
“Further research is needed to explore the impact this has on patients and healthcare systems,” the researchers noted.
Dr. Mark Siegel, Clinical Professor, School of Medicine New York University Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor pointed out that the UK does not have universal health coverage for prostate cancer.
“That’s because there’s a sentiment called PSA. [prostate-specific antigen] It may be inaccurate,” said Siegel, who was not involved in the new British study.
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“I don’t agree with that opinion, because most people here in the U.S. (primary care physicians and urologists) know that PSA is not a perfect guide to what’s going on in the prostate. This is because we are following the trends of PSA.
PSA is a blood test that measures the level of a specific protein produced by the prostate.
Dr. Mark Siegel of New York City pointed out that there is no universal screening program for prostate cancer in the United Kingdom. (St. Petersburg)
“While large-scale studies are currently underway in the UK into the effectiveness of different types of screening methods for prostate cancer, in the US many major medical centers (including mine) are already using the latest MRI tests. “We’re integrating these to test patients with prostate cancer who have a high or rising PSA before a prostate biopsy,” Siegel told FOX News Digital.
“Delays in diagnosis in the UK are not surprising.”
“MRI also allows us to target specific abnormal areas with biopsies if necessary.”
Regarding the impact of the pandemic, Siegel noted that the lockdown has caused a delay in daily life. medical care either America or Britain
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“The delay in diagnosis in the UK is not surprising,” he added.
The researchers acknowledged that the study had some limitations.
First, it focuses only on UK data, so it does not apply to the world population.
Based on the new findings, researchers recommend that health care providers focus on finding affected men. (St. Petersburg)
It is also possible that some cases were missed because diagnoses were obtained from primary care health records rather than cancer registries.
“But in England, cancer diagnosis “Patients are referred to primary care in discharge notifications, and primary care is a valid source of these data,” the researchers said.
“We validated our results against other published studies and they were in close agreement, confirming the validity of our methodology.”
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The study does not prove that the coronavirus caused the drop in diagnoses, the researchers noted, and “there may be multiple explanatory factors that are not exclusive to the cause.” COVID-19 pandemic. ”
However, the study found that “During the COVID-19 pandemic, resources and attention in health systems around the world have shifted to the prevention and control of COVID-19. Access to non-COVID-19 health services has changed, and so have waiting times.” cancer pathways, including treatment standards, have been adapted. ”
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It also states, in part, that “patient health care has been compromised as people adopted social distancing and shielding to protect themselves and others from infection. “The desired behavior has changed.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the study authors for additional comment.
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