The projected impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on breast cancer deaths in England due to the cessation of population screening: a national estimation.

Br J Cancer

UK National Screening Committee, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Department of Health and Social Care, 39 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0EU, UK.

Published: May 2022

AI Article Synopsis

  • Breast screening services in England were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to concerns about delayed detection of breast cancers and potential increases in cancer deaths.
  • Approximately 1.5 million women experienced delays of 2-7 months in their screenings, potentially resulting in 2,500 to 4,100 cancers shifting from screen-detected to symptomatic status, and leading to an estimated 148 to 452 additional deaths from these cancers.
  • Overall, the study projects that there could be 148 to 687 extra breast cancer deaths due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic, largely dependent on how quickly screening services can resume and address the backlog.

Article Abstract

Background: Population breast screening services in England were suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we estimate the number of breast cancers whose detection may be delayed because of the suspension, and the potential impact on cancer deaths over 10 years.

Methods: We estimated the number and length of screening delays from observed NHS Breast Screening System data. We then estimated additional breast cancer deaths from three routes: asymptomatic tumours progressing to symptomatically diagnosed disease, invasive tumours which remain screen-detected but at a later date, and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) progressing to invasive disease by detection. We took progression rates, prognostic characteristics, and survival rates from published sources.

Results: We estimated that 1,489,237 women had screening delayed by around 2-7 months between July 2020 and June 2021, leaving 745,277 outstanding screens. Depending on how quickly this backlog is cleared, around 2500-4100 cancers would shift from screen-detected to symptomatic cancers, resulting in 148-452 additional breast cancer deaths. There would be an additional 164-222 screen-detected tumour deaths, and 71-97 deaths from DCIS that progresses to invasive cancer.

Conclusions: An estimated 148-687 additional breast cancer deaths may occur as a result of the pandemic-related disruptions. The impact depends on how quickly screening services catch up with delays.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8808468PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41416-022-01714-9DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

cancer deaths
20
breast cancer
16
additional breast
12
breast screening
8
screening services
8
breast
7
deaths
7
screening
6
cancer
5
projected impact
4

Similar Publications

Background: Cancer is a leading cause of global mortality, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. This is projected to increase by more than 60% by 2040, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Yet, palliative and psychosocial oncology care is very limited in these countries.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The death and clearance of nurse cells is a consequential milestone in Drosophila melanogaster oogenesis. In preparation for oviposition, the germline-derived nurse cells bequeath to the developing oocyte all their cytoplasmic contents and undergo programmed cell death. The death of the nurse cells is controlled non-autonomously and is precipitated by epithelial follicle cells of somatic origin acquiring a squamous morphology and acidifying the nurse cells externally.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pacific Peoples' Experiences of Cancer and Its Treatment in Aotearoa New Zealand Through Talanoa: A Qualitative Study of Samoan and Tongan Participants.

JCO Glob Oncol

January 2025

Auckland Regional Cancer and Blood Service, Te Toka Tumai Auckland, Health New Zealand, Te Whatu Ora, Auckland, New Zealand.

Purpose: In Aotearoa New Zealand, there are inequitable outcomes for Pacific peoples who experience higher rates of preventable cancers and poorer survival compared with other ethnicities. The aim of this study was to explore Pacific peoples lived experience of cancer and its treatment in the Auckland setting.

Methods: Data were collected through semistructured interviews (talanoa) with Pacific patients under the Auckland Regional Cancer and Blood Service.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Functional differences between rodent and human PD-1 linked to evolutionary divergence.

Sci Immunol

January 2025

Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.

Mechanistic understanding of the inhibitory immunoreceptor PD-1 is largely based on mouse models, but human and mouse PD-1 share only 59.6% amino acid identity. Here, we found that human PD-1 is more inhibitory than mouse PD-1, owing to stronger interactions with the ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2 and more efficient recruitment of the effector phosphatase Shp2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study aimed to identify radiotherapy dosimetric parameters related to local failure (LF)-free survival (LFFS) in patients with lung and liver oligometastases from colorectal cancer treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). We analyzed 75 oligometastatic lesions in 55 patients treated with SBRT between January 2014 and December 2021. There was no constraint or intentional increase in maximum dose.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!