In the COVID-19 era, significant decrease in cancer screening rate and inpatients in Japan

Due to the expansion of COVID-19, the number of people who have undergone cancer screening conducted by local governments in Japan has decreased significantly. According to a survey report by the Japan Cancer Society, the number of patients who received medical examinations in especially May 2020 was 8%, compared to the same period in 2019. The Japan Cancer Society has announced to the Japanese people that cancer screening will have a direct impact on the prognosis, so by all means, they should actively undergo cancer screening.

By undergoing cancer screening, cancer is detected at early stage and the mortality rate from cancer is decreasing. Every year, about 11 million Japanese citizens undergo cancer screening conducted by local governments in Japan. As a result, cancer has been found in about 13,000 recipients.

In June 2020, the Japan Cancer Society, which recommends cancer screening to local governments in Japan, conducted a questionnaire survey of Japanese citizens at branch offices in 42 prefectures in Japan in order to investigate the impact of the expansion of COVID-19 on cancer screening. The Japan Cancer Society received questionnaire responses from 32 branches.

As a result of the questionnaire survey, the number of people who have undergone cancer screening for five types of cancer such as stomach cancer and breast cancer has begun to decrease significantly from March 2020. Compared to the same period in 2019, in March 2020, the number of recipients was 64%, in April, the number of recipients was 16%, and in May, the number of recipients was 8%. So the number of recipients has decreased significantly.

The Japan Cancer Society has determined “Cancellation of cancer screening due to the impact of the expansion of COVID-19”and “Increasing number of people refraining from cancer screening due to concerns about SARS-CoV-2 infection” as a cause of the significant decrease in the number of cancer screening recipients.

In addition, due to the expansion of COVID-19, the number of hospitalized patients with the three major cancers i.e. gastric cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer has decreased significantly at national hospitals and national university hospitals in Japan. By September 2020, the number of inpatients with lung cancer decreased by 28.2% compared to the number of inpatients in the same month of 2019. Next, in the same period, the number of inpatients with gastric cancer decreased by 19.6% compared to the number of inpatients in the same month of 2019. Over the same period, the number of inpatients with colorectal cancer (colon cancer including the appendix) decreased by 9.8% compared to the number of inpatients in the same month of 2019. Thorough hygiene management at the hospital and refraining from going out of the patient can be considered as a cause of the decrease in the number of patients due to the expansion of COVID-19.

Cancer medical professionals are worried that the reduction in cancer screenings and inpatients will have a major impact on cancer treatment for patients. Medical staff at medical institutions in Japan are worried that cancer, which is usually detected at early stage, may be found in advanced medical conditions or that treatment may be delayed. If this situation is not improved early, there is concern that the cancer mortality rate, which has been decreasing in decades, will increase.

The Japan Government and medical staff must provide accurate information to the Japanese people, such as the risk of developing cancer and infection control against COVID-19.                                                                      Comment from Doctor specializing in cancer treatment.                            JAMA Oncology Published on November by Kyoto@Takuma H