ArticleCancer medicine2021
Trends in cancer imaging by indication, care setting, and hospital type during the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery at four hospitals in Massachusetts.
Article in Cancer medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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13 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impacts of a Public Health Emergency on Cancer Testing Rates, Follow-up, and Cancer Diagnosis: An Evaluation of the COVID-19 Pandemic.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2026Article
- Provider and Organizational Factors Impacting Routine Cancer Screening Among Older Medicaid Enrollees.Health services research · 2026Article
- Geographic variability in contemporary utilization of PET imaging for prostate cancer: a medicare claims cohort study.Cancer imaging : the official publication of the International Cancer Imaging Society · 2025Article
- The COVID-19 Pandemic's Effect on Preventive Imaging.AJPM focus · 2024Article
- Trends in non-focal neurological chief complaints and CT angiography utilization among adults in the emergency department.Internal and emergency medicine · 2024Observational
- The impact of COVID-19 on 2020 monthly incidence trends of primary brain and other CNS tumors.Neuro-oncology · 2024Article
- Trends in oncological imaging during the COVID-19 pandemic through the vaccination era.Cancer medicine · 2023Article
- Imaging and physician visits at cancer diagnosis: COVID -19 pandemic impact on cancer care.Cancer medicine · 2023Article
- Trends in Academic Productivity Among Radiologists During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR · 2023Article
- Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on outpatient visit volume in cancer patients: Results of COMETA multicenter retrospective observational study.Frontiers in public health · 2023Observational
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural and urban cancer patients' experiences, health behaviors, and perceptions.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2022Article
- Institutional Surgical Response and Associated Volume Trends Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic and Postvaccination Recovery Period.JAMA network open · 2022Article
- Trends in cancer imaging by indication, care setting, and hospital type during the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery at four hospitals in Massachusetts.Cancer medicine · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWe aimed to investigate the effects of COVID-19 on computed tomography (CT) imaging of cancer.
methodsCancer-related CTs performed at one academic hospital and three affiliated community hospitals in Massachusetts were retrospectively analyzed. Three periods of 2020 were considered as follows: pre-COVID-19 (1/5/20-3/14/20), COVID-19 peak (3/15/20-5/2/20), and post-COVID-19 peak (5/3/20-11/14/20). 15 March 2020 was the day a state of emergency was declared in MA; 3 May 2020 was the day our hospitals resumed to non-urgent imaging. The volumes were assessed by (1) Imaging indication: cancer screening, initial workup, active cancer, and surveillance; (2) Care setting: outpatient and inpatient, ED; (3) Hospital type: quaternary academic center (QAC), university-affiliated community hospital (UACH), and sole community hospitals (SCHs).
resultsDuring the COVID-19 peak, a significant drop in CT volumes was observed (-42.2%, p < 0.0001), with cancer screening, initial workup, active cancer, and cancer surveillance declining by 81.7%, 54.8%, 30.7%, and 44.7%, respectively (p < 0.0001). In the post-COVID-19 peak period, cancer screening and initial workup CTs did not recover (-11.7%, p = 0.037; -20.0%, p = 0.031), especially in the outpatient setting. CT volumes for active cancer recovered, but inconsistently across hospital types: the QAC experienced a 9.4% decline (p = 0.022) and the UACH a 41.5% increase (p < 0.001). Outpatient CTs recovered after the COVID-19 peak, but with a shift in utilization away from the QAC (-8.7%, p = 0.020) toward the UACH (+13.3%, p = 0.013). Inpatient and ED-based oncologic CTs increased post-peak (+20.0%, p = 0.004 and +33.2%, p = 0.009, respectively).
conclusionsCancer imaging was severely impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. CTs for cancer screening and initial workup did not recover to pre-COVID-19 levels well into 2020, a finding that suggests more patients with advanced cancers may present in the future. A redistribution of imaging utilization away from the QAC and outpatient settings, toward the community hospitals and inpatient setting/ED was observed.
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