Incident Cancer Detection During Multiple Waves of COVID-19: The Tsunami After the Earthquake
Rui Fu, Rinku Sutradhar, Qing Li, Timothy P. Hanna, Kelvin Chan, Jonathan C. Irish, Natalie G. Coburn, Julie Hallet, Anna Dare, Simron Singh, Ambica Parmar, Craig C. Earle, Lauren Lapointe‐Shaw, Monika K. Krzyzanowska, Antonio Finelli, Alexander V. Louie, Nicole J. Look Hong, Ian Witterick, Alyson Mahar, David Gómez, Daniel I. McIsaac, Danny Enepekides, David R. Urbach, Antoine Eskander
Abstract
No population-based study exists to demonstrate the full-spectrum impact of COVID-19 on hindering incident cancer detection in a large cancer system. Building upon our previous publication in JNCCN, we conducted an updated analysis using 12 months of new data accrued in the pandemic era (extending the study period from September 26, 2020, to October 2, 2021) to demonstrate how multiple COVID-19 waves affected the weekly cancer incidence volume in Ontario, Canada, and if we have fully cleared the backlog at the end of each wave.