Photo | Courtesy | UMass Medical School
Mara Meyer Epstein
February 10, 2021
UMass Medical School study: Cancer screenings fell during pandemic
By Grant Welker
Screenings for breast and prostate cancer fell precipitously during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, indicating the potential danger health leaders have warned about, with patients potentially not receiving other needed medical care during the health crisis.
The UMass study, which the school released Wednesday, was conducted with Worcester-based Reliant Medical Group between January 2019 and October 2020. Researchers analyzed electronic health record data for men and women without a history of prostate or breast cancer.
Breast cancer testing rates fell the most: as much as 96% in April 2020 and 94% the next month. Through October, testing remained down by at least one-third compared to the previous year. More than 6,000 screening mammograms were canceled or rescheduled in the early months of the pandemic during the state's stay-at-home order, the researchers found.
Prostate screening rates fell by as much as 83% last April but unlike breast cancer screenings have since rebounded.
Mara Meyer Epstein, a professor at the medical school and a corresponding author of the study, said missing a screening can be dangerous. If someone is diagnosed with cancer later on, the cancer could be at a more advanced stage, she said, making it potentially more difficult to treat.
The danger of not receiving needed health screenings has been documented earlier in the pandemic. The National Cancer Institute estimated in June that 10,000 more breast and colorectal cancer deaths would take place over the next decade because of delayed or missed screenings due to the pandemic.
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