TY - JOUR
T1 - Mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on colorectal cancer screening
T2 - Organized service screening perspectives from the Asia-Pacific region
AU - Chiu, Han Mo
AU - Su, Chiu Wen
AU - Hsu, Weng Feng
AU - Jen, Grace Hsiao Hsuan
AU - Hsu, Chen Yang
AU - Chen, Sam Li Sheng
AU - Chen, Hsiu Hsi
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare ( A1081113 ) of the Taiwanese government . The funding source had no role in the study design; data collection, analysis, or interpretation; report writing; or decision to submit this paper for publication.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s)
PY - 2021/10
Y1 - 2021/10
N2 - Colorectal cancer(CRC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies in the Asia-Pacific region, and many countries in this region have launched population CRC service screening. In this study, CRC screening key indicators, including the FIT(fecal immunochemical test) screening rate (or participation rate) and the rate of undergoing colonoscopy after positive FIT in 2019 and 2020, were surveyed in individual countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The impact of the pandemic on the effectiveness of CRC screening was simulated given different screening rates and colonoscopy rates and assuming the pandemic would persist or remain poorly controlled for a long period of time, using the empirical data from the Taiwanese program and the CRC natural history model. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the programs in this region were affected, but to different extents, which was largely influenced by the severity of the local pandemic. Most of the programs continued screening services in 2020, although a temporary pause occurred in some countries. The modeling study revealed that prolonged pauses of screening led to 6% lower effectiveness in reducing CRC mortality. Screening organizers should coordinate with health authorities to elaborate on addressing screening backlogs, setting priorities for screening, and applying modern technologies to overcome potential obstacles. Many novel approaches that were developed and applied during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the risk-stratified approach that takes into account personal CRC risk and the local epidemic status, as well as new digital technologies, are expected to play important roles in CRC screening in the future.
AB - Colorectal cancer(CRC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies in the Asia-Pacific region, and many countries in this region have launched population CRC service screening. In this study, CRC screening key indicators, including the FIT(fecal immunochemical test) screening rate (or participation rate) and the rate of undergoing colonoscopy after positive FIT in 2019 and 2020, were surveyed in individual countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The impact of the pandemic on the effectiveness of CRC screening was simulated given different screening rates and colonoscopy rates and assuming the pandemic would persist or remain poorly controlled for a long period of time, using the empirical data from the Taiwanese program and the CRC natural history model. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the programs in this region were affected, but to different extents, which was largely influenced by the severity of the local pandemic. Most of the programs continued screening services in 2020, although a temporary pause occurred in some countries. The modeling study revealed that prolonged pauses of screening led to 6% lower effectiveness in reducing CRC mortality. Screening organizers should coordinate with health authorities to elaborate on addressing screening backlogs, setting priorities for screening, and applying modern technologies to overcome potential obstacles. Many novel approaches that were developed and applied during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the risk-stratified approach that takes into account personal CRC risk and the local epidemic status, as well as new digital technologies, are expected to play important roles in CRC screening in the future.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106622
DO - 10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106622
M3 - Article
C2 - 34044024
AN - SCOPUS:85111792741
SN - 0091-7435
VL - 151
JO - Preventive Medicine
JF - Preventive Medicine
M1 - 106622
ER -