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. 2021 Oct:151:106585.
doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106585. Epub 2021 Jun 30.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on breast cancer early detection and screening

Breast Screening Working Group (WG2) of the Covid-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium; Jonine D Figueroa  1 , Ewan Gray  2 , Nora Pashayan  3 , Silvia Deandrea  4 , Andre Karch  5 , Diama Bhadra Vale  6 , Kenneth Elder  7 , Pietro Procopio  8 , Nicolien T van Ravesteyn  9 , Miriam Mutabi  10 , Karen Canfell  11 , Carolyn Nickson  8
Affiliations

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on breast cancer early detection and screening

Breast Screening Working Group (WG2) of the Covid-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium et al. Prev Med. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic affects mortality and morbidity, with disruptions expected to continue for some time, with access to timely cancer-related services a concern. For breast cancer, early detection and treatment is key to improved survival and longer-term quality of life. Health services generally have been strained and in many settings with population breast mammography screening, efforts to diagnose and treat breast cancers earlier have been paused or have had reduced capacity. The resulting delays to diagnosis and treatment may lead to more intensive treatment requirements and, potentially, increased mortality. Modelled evaluations can support responses to the pandemic by estimating short- and long-term outcomes for various scenarios. Multiple calibrated and validated models exist for breast cancer screening, and some have been applied in 2020 to estimate the impact of breast screening disruptions and compare options for recovery, in a range of international settings. On behalf of the Covid and Cancer Modelling Consortium (CCGMC) Working Group 2 (Breast Cancer), we summarize and provide examples of such in a range of settings internationally, and propose priorities for future modelling exercises. International expert collaborations from the CCGMC Working Group 2 (Breast Cancer) will conduct analyses and modelling studies needed to inform key stakeholders recovery efforts in order to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

Keywords: Breast; COVID-19; Incidence; Modelling; Mortality; Screening.

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Conflict of interest statement

KC is co-principal investigator of an unrelated investigator-initiated trial of cervical screening in Australia (Compass; ACTRN12613001207707 and NCT02328872), which is conducted and funded by the VCS Foundation (VCS), a government-funded health promotion charity. The VCS Foundation received equipment and a funding contribution from Roche Molecular Systems USA. However, neither KC nor her institution on her behalf (Cancer Council NSW) receives direct funding from industry for this trial or any other project. KC is funded by the NHMRC (Investigator Grant APP1194679). All other authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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