Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Oct;35(10):1951-1954.
doi: 10.1007/s00384-020-03635-6. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic in the colorectal cancer prevention

Giovanna Del Vecchio Blanco  1 , Emma Calabrese  2 , Livia Biancone  2 , Giovanni Monteleone  2 , Omero Alessandro Paoluzi  2
Affiliations

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic in the colorectal cancer prevention

Giovanna Del Vecchio Blanco et al. Int J Colorectal Dis. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to a policy of severe restrictions in almost all countries strongly involved by the pandemic. National Health System is among activities suffering from the COVID-19 and the lockdown.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of COVID-19 in colorectal cancer (CRC) prevention.

Methods: We report the change in the hospital organization to meet the growing healthcare needs determined by COVID-19. The limitations of CRC prevention secondary to COVID-19 and their effects on the healthcare are analyzed considering the features of the CRC screening programs in the average-risk population and endoscopic surveillance in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).

Results: The interruption of CRC prevention may lead to a delayed diagnosis of CRC, possibly in a more advanced stage. The economic burden and the impact on workload for gastroenterologists, surgeons, and oncologists will be greater as long as the CRC prevention remains suspended. To respond to the increased demand for colonoscopy once COVID-19 will be under control, we should optimize the resources. It will be necessary to stratify the CRC risk and reach an order of priority. It should be implemented the number of health workers, equipment, and spaces dedicated to performing colonoscopy for screening purpose and in subjects with alarm symptoms in the shortest time. To this aim, the funds earmarked for healthcare should be increased.

Conclusion: The economic impact will be dramatic, but COVID-19 is the demonstration that healthcare has to be the primary goal of humans.

Keywords: COVID-19; Colonoscopy; Colorectal cancer; Colorectal cancer screening; Fecal occult blood test.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Zorzi M, Senore C, Turrin A, Mantellini P, Visioli CB, Naldoni C, Sassoli De’ Bianchi P, Fedato C, Anghinoni E, Zappa M, Hassan C, Italian colorectal cancer screening survey group Appropriateness of endoscopic surveillance recommendations in organised colorectal cancer screening programmes based on the faecal immunochemical test. Gut. 2016;65:1822–1828. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2015-310139. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gini A, Jansen EEL, Zielonke N, Meester RGS, Senore C, Anttila A, Segnan N, Mlakar DN, de Koning HJ, Lansdorp-Vogelaar I, EU-TOPIA consortium Impact of colorectal cancer screening on cancer-specific mortality in Europe: a systematic review. Eur J Cancer. 2020;127:224–235. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2019.12.014. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Moss S, Ancelle-Park R, Brenner H. European guidelines for quality assurance in colorectal cancer screening and diagnosis. First edition. Evaluation and interpretation of screening outcomes. Endoscopy. 2012;44:SE49–SE64. doi: 10.1055/s-0031-1291525. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Paterson WG, Depew WT, Pare P, Petrunia D, Switzer C, Veldhuyzen van Zanten SJ, et al. Canadian consensus on medically acceptable wait times for digestive health care. Can J Gastroenterol. 2006;20:411–423. doi: 10.1155/2006/343686. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bibbins-Domingo K, Grossman DC, Curry SJ, Davidson KW, Epling JW, Jr, Garcia FAR, et al. Screening for colorectal cancer: US preventive services task force recommendation statement. JAMA. 2016;315:2564–2575. doi: 10.1001/jama.2016.5989. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms