Impact of Covid-19 on Breast Cancer Screening

Stevanato, Kely Paviani; Pelloso, Fernando Castilho; Borghesan, Deise Helena Pelloso; Ribeiro, Helena Fiats; Carvalho, Maria Dalva De Barros; Ribeiro, Sandra Marisa

doi:10.31557/APJCP.2024.25.8.2703

Impact of Covid-19 on Breast Cancer Screening

Document Type : Research Articles

Authors

¹ Department of Health Sciences, State University of Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil.

² Department of Medicine, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.

³ Department of Aesthetics and cosmetics, Ingá University Center, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil.

10.31557/APJCP.2024.25.8.2703

Abstract

Objective: To assess the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on breast cancer screening. Methods: This was a cross-sectional and retrospective study, which used data extracted from “TABNET” between 2014 to 2020. Statistical analysis was carried out using the ANOVA model. Result: In 2019, a total of 3,068,776 mammograms were conducted, which significantly decreased to 1,808,765 in 2020. Since the onset of the pandemic in Brazil in March 2020, there has been a reduction in the number of mammograms performed. Mammography coverage increased from 0.11 to 0.18 between 2014 and 2019 but sharply declined from 0.18 to 0.10 between 2019 and 2020. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on breast cancer screening efforts, especially in detecting the disease in early stages. Health services shifted their focus towards caring for COVID-19 patients, therefore neglecting routine screening programs and interventions. Additionally, the population’s fear of contagion contributed to a decrease in demand for screening tests.

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