Colon cancer treatment in Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic: A nationwide register-based study

AIM

The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the capacity to diagnose and treat cancer worldwide due to the prioritization of COVID-19 treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate treatment and outcomes of colon cancer in Sweden before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

In an observational study, using the Swedish Colorectal Cancer Registry, we included (i) all Swedish patients diagnosed with colon cancer, and (ii) all patients undergoing surgery for colon cancer, in 2016-2020. Incidence of colon cancer, treatments and outcomes in 2020 were compared with 2019.

RESULTS

The number of colon cancer cases in Sweden in April-May 2020 was 27% lower than the previous year, whereas no difference was observed on an annual level (4,589 vs. 4,763 patients [-4%]). Among patients with colon cancer undergoing surgery in 2020, the proportion of resections was 93 vs. 94% in 2019, with no increase in acute resections. Time from diagnosis to elective surgery decreased (29 days vs. 33 days in 2020 vs. 2019). In 2020, more patients underwent a two-stage procedure with a diverting stoma as first surgery (6.1%) vs. (4.4%) in 2019 (p = 0.0020) and more patients were treated with preoperative chemotherapy (5.1%) vs. (3,5%) 2019 (p = 0.0016). The proportion of patients that underwent laparoscopic surgery increased from 54% to 58% (p = 0.0017) There were no differences in length of stay, surgical complications, reoperation, ICU-stay or 30-day mortality between the years.

CONCLUSION

Based on nationwide annual data, we did not observe adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on colon cancer treatment and short time outcomes in Sweden.