The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on delays and disruptions in cancer care services: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Richa Shah; Nader Mounir Hanna; Ching Ee Loo; Michael David; Allini Mafra; Hanna Fink; Ethna McFerran; Montse Garcia; Robabeh Ghodssighassemabadi; Suryakanta Acharya; Jean Niyibaga; Oliver Langselius; Clara Frick; Nwamaka Lasebikan; Jerome Vignat; Julia Steinberg; Suzanne Hughes; Colleen Elizabeth Kircher; Catherine Lindsay Goldie; Sam Egger; Richard Sullivan; Ophira Ginsburg; Freddie Bray; Michael Caruana; Harriet Hui; André Michel Ilbawi; Karen Canfell; Isabelle Soerjomataram

doi:10.1038/s43018-024-00880-4

The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on delays and disruptions in cancer care services: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Richa Shah^*, Nader Mounir Hanna, Ching Ee Loo, Michael David, Allini Mafra, Hanna Fink, Ethna McFerran, Montse Garcia, Robabeh Ghodssighassemabadi, Suryakanta Acharya, Jean Niyibaga, Oliver Langselius, Clara Frick, Nwamaka Lasebikan, Jerome Vignat, Julia Steinberg, Suzanne Hughes, Colleen Elizabeth Kircher, Catherine Lindsay Goldie, Sam EggerRichard Sullivan, Ophira Ginsburg, Freddie Bray, Michael Caruana, Harriet Hui, André Michel Ilbawi, Karen Canfell, Isabelle Soerjomataram

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic substantially impacted the delivery of cancer services and programs. Here we reviewed and synthesized the global scale and impact of pandemic-related delays and disruptions on cancer services, including diagnosis, diagnostic procedures, screening, treatment and supportive and palliative care. Based on data from 245 articles in 46 countries, we observed declines in the number of cancer screening participation (39.0%), diagnoses (23.0%), diagnostic procedures (24.0%) and treatment (28.0%), ranging from a 15.0% decline for radiotherapy to a 35.0% decline for systemic treatment during the pandemic compared to during the prepandemic period. Medium-human development index (HDI) category countries experienced greater reductions than high- and very-high-HDI countries. Missing data from low-HDI countries emphasize the need for increased investments in cancer surveillance and research in these settings. PROSPERO registration: CRD42022301816

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	194–204
Journal	Nature Cancer
Volume	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-024-00880-4
Publication status	Published - 02 Jan 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc. 2025.

Keywords

Health sciences
Oncology
Cancer
Cancer epidemiology
Health services
Health care access

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Oncology
Cancer Research

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on delays and disruptions in cancer care services: A systematic review and meta-analysis
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Next steps for cancer care in Northern Ireland
McFerran, E. (Advisor)
09 Feb 2024
Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
International Cancer Screening Network
McFerran, E. (Participant)
21 Jun 2023 → 23 Jun 2023
Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
International Partnership for Resilience in Cancer Systems (I-PaRCS)
McFerran, E. (Contributor)
11 May 2020 → …
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McFerran, E. (Recipient), 21 Sept 2022
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Coronavirus could lead to thousands more cancer deaths
McFerran, E. & Lawler, M.
21/07/2020
1 Media contribution
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1 Citations
3 Article

Global review of COVID-19 mitigation strategies and their impact on cancer service disruptions
Shah, R., Loo, C. E., Hanna, N. M., Hughes, S., da Costa, A. M., Fink, H., McFerran, E., Garcia, M., Acharya, S., Langselius, O., Frick, C. J., Niyigaba, J., Lasebikan, N., Steinberg, J., Sullivan, R., Bray, F., Ilbawi, A. M., Ginsburg, O., Chiam, K. & Cylus, J. & 5 others, David, M., Caruana, M., Hui, H., Canfell, K. & Soerjomataram, I., Sept 2024, In: Journal of Cancer Policy. 41, 100486.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus)
Effect of delays in the 2-week-wait cancer referral pathway during the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer survival in the UK: a modelling study
Sud, A., Torr, B., Jones, M., Broggio, J., Scott, S., Loveday, C., Garrett, A., Gronthoud, F., Nicol, D. L., Jhanji, S., Boyce, S. A., Williams, M., Riboli, E., Muller, D. C., Kipps, E., Larkin, J., Navani, N., Swanton, C., Lyratzopoulos, G. & McFerran, E. & 3 others, Lawler, M., Houlston, R. & Turnbull, C., 01 Aug 2020, In: The Lancet Oncology. 21, 8, p. 1035-1044 10 p.
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Prioritisation by FIT to mitigate the impact of delays in the 2-week wait colorectal cancer referral pathway during the COVID-19 pandemic: a UK modelling study
Loveday, C., Sud, A., Jones, M. E., Broggio, J., Scott, S., Gronthound, F., Torr, B., Garrett, A., Nicol, D. L., Jhanji, S., Boyce, S. A., Williams, M., Barry, C., Riboli, E., Kipps, E., McFerran, E., Muller, D. C., Lyratzopoulos, G., Lawler, M. & Abulafi, M. & 2 others, Houlston, R. S. & Turnbull, C., 27 Aug 2020, (Early online date) In: Gut.
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Cite this

Shah, R., Hanna, N. M., Loo, C. E., David, M., Mafra, A., Fink, H., McFerran, E., Garcia, M., Ghodssighassemabadi, R., Acharya, S., Niyibaga, J., Langselius, O., Frick, C., Lasebikan, N., Vignat, J., Steinberg, J., Hughes, S., Kircher, C. E., Goldie, C. L., ... Soerjomataram, I. (2025). The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on delays and disruptions in cancer care services: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nature Cancer, 6, 194–204. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-024-00880-4

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abstract = "The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic substantially impacted the delivery of cancer services and programs. Here we reviewed and synthesized the global scale and impact of pandemic-related delays and disruptions on cancer services, including diagnosis, diagnostic procedures, screening, treatment and supportive and palliative care. Based on data from 245 articles in 46 countries, we observed declines in the number of cancer screening participation (39.0%), diagnoses (23.0%), diagnostic procedures (24.0%) and treatment (28.0%), ranging from a 15.0% decline for radiotherapy to a 35.0% decline for systemic treatment during the pandemic compared to during the prepandemic period. Medium-human development index (HDI) category countries experienced greater reductions than high- and very-high-HDI countries. Missing data from low-HDI countries emphasize the need for increased investments in cancer surveillance and research in these settings. PROSPERO registration: CRD42022301816",

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note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc. 2025.",

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Shah, R, Hanna, NM, Loo, CE, David, M, Mafra, A, Fink, H, McFerran, E, Garcia, M, Ghodssighassemabadi, R, Acharya, S, Niyibaga, J, Langselius, O, Frick, C, Lasebikan, N, Vignat, J, Steinberg, J, Hughes, S, Kircher, CE, Goldie, CL, Egger, S, Sullivan, R, Ginsburg, O, Bray, F, Caruana, M, Hui, H, Ilbawi, AM, Canfell, K & Soerjomataram, I 2025, 'The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on delays and disruptions in cancer care services: a systematic review and meta-analysis', Nature Cancer, vol. 6, pp. 194–204. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-024-00880-4

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AU - Mafra, Allini

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AU - Sullivan, Richard

AU - Ginsburg, Ophira

AU - Bray, Freddie

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AB - The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic substantially impacted the delivery of cancer services and programs. Here we reviewed and synthesized the global scale and impact of pandemic-related delays and disruptions on cancer services, including diagnosis, diagnostic procedures, screening, treatment and supportive and palliative care. Based on data from 245 articles in 46 countries, we observed declines in the number of cancer screening participation (39.0%), diagnoses (23.0%), diagnostic procedures (24.0%) and treatment (28.0%), ranging from a 15.0% decline for radiotherapy to a 35.0% decline for systemic treatment during the pandemic compared to during the prepandemic period. Medium-human development index (HDI) category countries experienced greater reductions than high- and very-high-HDI countries. Missing data from low-HDI countries emphasize the need for increased investments in cancer surveillance and research in these settings. PROSPERO registration: CRD42022301816

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KW - Oncology

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KW - Health services

KW - Health care access

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VL - 6

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JO - Nature Cancer

JF - Nature Cancer

ER -

The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on delays and disruptions in cancer care services: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Embargoed Document

Fingerprint

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Research output

Cite this