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Multicenter Study
. 2022 Feb;52(2):231-238.
doi: 10.1007/s00595-021-02329-y. Epub 2021 Jul 20.

Impact of COVID-19 on gastric cancer treatment in Japanese high-volume centers: a JCOG stomach cancer study group survey

Masanori Tokunaga  1 , Takaki Yoshikawa  2 , Narikazu Boku  3 , Yasunori Nishida  4 , Toshiyuki Tanahashi  5 , Takanobu Yamada  6 , Shusuke Haruta  7 , Tsuyoshi Etoh  8 , Noriyuki Hirahara  9 , Yasuyuki Kawachi  10 , Kunihiro Tsuji  11 , Takahiro Kinoshita  12 , Takashi Kanazawa  13 , Noriaki Tokumoto  14 , Junya Fujita  15 , Masanori Terashima  16
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Impact of COVID-19 on gastric cancer treatment in Japanese high-volume centers: a JCOG stomach cancer study group survey

Masanori Tokunaga et al. Surg Today. 2022 Feb.

Abstract

Purposes: The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected socioeconomic and healthcare systems in many countries. Accordingly, many individuals may have canceled their annual health-check programs, including esophagogastroduodenoscopy, which would have resulted in lower numbers of newly diagnosed patients with gastric cancer in comparison to other times.

Methods: Questionnaires were distributed to 62 hospitals every week from May 2020 to August 2020 (total 744) through mailing lists of the Stomach Cancer Study Group of the Japan Clinical Oncology Group. The number of patients with gastric cancer and hospital systems during the COVID-19 pandemic were surveyed.

Results: In total, 74% (551 out of 744) of the questionnaires were answered and analyzed. In early May, approximately 50% of hospitals had to restrict surgical slots due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they gradually loosened the restrictions thereafter. The number of gastrectomies was < 80% that of the same period in the previous year, and hospitals in Tokyo were seriously affected by a 50% decrease in the number of gastrectomies.

Conclusions: The number of gastrectomies was lower than that in the previous year. Further multi-center follow-up studies are required to evaluate the long-term effects of COVID-19 on the clinical outcomes of patients with gastric cancer.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Gastrectomy; Socioeconomic factors; Stomach neoplasms.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in association with the present study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The contents of the questionnaire survey
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The effect of COVID-19 on the number of patients (Q2), hospital system (Q3, Q5), and clinical trials (Q13)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The effect of COVID-19 on surgery for gastric cancer (Q6), benign disease (Q7), and emergency cases (Q8)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The effect of COVID-19 on chemotherapy (Q9, 10) and endoscopy (Q11, 12)
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
The ratio of gastrectomy in 2020 to that in 2019 in each week (a). The effect of COVID-19 on the number of gastrectomies was stratified by the type of institution (b) and the location of institution (c). It was also calculated with hospitals in Tokyo (d)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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