The impact of COVID-19 on lung cancer detection, diagnosis and treatment for Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this article is to examine disparities in the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to lung cancer diagnosis and access to clinical services between Māori and non-Māori.

Methods: Using national-level data, we examined age-standardised lung cancer registrations, diagnostic procedures (bronchoscopy) and lung surgeries separately by ethnic group for the years 2018-2020, as well as patterns of stage of diagnosis.

Results: We found a trend toward a reduction in rates of lung cancer registration in Māori (but not non-Māori/non-Pacific) New Zealanders in 2020 compared to 2018 and 2019, but no apparent shift in the distribution of stage at diagnosis. We found a trend toward a reduction in rates of bronchoscopy for both Māori and non-Māori/non-Pacific patients, with the largest reduction observed for Māori. Rates of lung cancer surgery appeared to have reduced for Māori patients, although this was based on a small number of procedures.

Conclusions: We observed disparities between Māori and non-Māori/non-Pacific patients in lung cancer registration and bronchoscopy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.