ArticleThe Lancet regional health. Western Pacific2021
Changes in systemic cancer therapy in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based study.
Article in The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Time to castrate the cost? the rising expense of chemical castration for the management of prostate cancer.Prostate international · 2025Article
- Changes to Patterns of Oncology Medicine Dispensing in Response to the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ireland: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2025Article
- Trends in the Dispensing of Oral Anti-Cancer Medications Across Australia Over 10 Years.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2025Article
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dispensing of systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) in Ireland: A population based study.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
- Living with COVID-19 and cancer: the need for observational research in the post-pandemic world.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2023Article
- Stakeholder perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 on oncology services: a qualitative study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023Article
- Understanding the impact of lockdowns on short-term excess mortality in Australia.BMJ global health · 2022Review
- Comparison of Use of Neoadjuvant Systemic Treatment for Breast Cancer and Short-term Outcomes Before vs During the COVID-19 Era in Ontario, Canada.JAMA network open · 2022Article
- Impact of COVID-19 in Cervical and Breast Cancer Screening and Systemic Treatment in São Paulo, Brazil: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis.JCO global oncology · 2022Article
- Changes in dispensing of medicines proposed for re-purposing in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.PloS one · 2022Article
- Generating Real-World Evidence on the Quality Use, Benefits and Safety of Medicines in Australia: History, Challenges and a Roadmap for the Future.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSince the emergence of COVID-19 there have been increasing global concerns about delays and/or discontinuations in cancer care. However, it is unclear to what extent systemic cancer therapy was impacted by COVID-19 in countries with relatively low COVID-19 infection rates. We examined changes in systemic cancer therapy in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsWe conducted a national observational study using de-identified records of government-subsidised cancer medicines dispensed to a random 10% sample of Australians between January 2017 to December 2020. We reported monthly dispensing and initiation rates of antineoplastic (chemo-, immuno- and targeted therapy), endocrine and supportive medicines per 100,000 population. We reported monthly discontinuation rates (defined as ≥90 days gap between cancer medicine dispensings) per 1,000 people treated. We used interrupted time series analysis to examine changes during times of increased COVID-19 risk and related public health measures (March, April and July 2020).
findingsBetween January 2017 and December 2020, 1,011,255 cancer medicines were dispensed to 51,515 people. Overall, there were no reductions in antineoplastic dispensing or initiation during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, we observed a temporary increase of 39/100,000 (95% CI: 14 to 65/100,000) in antineoplastic dispensing, driven by immunotherapy and targeted therapy. In April 2020, we observed a temporary decrease in chemotherapy initiation (-2/100,000, 95% CI: -4 to -1/100,000) and temporary increase in discontinuation of all antineoplastic medicines (35/1,000, 95% CI: 20 to 51/1,000), but these changes were not sustained.
interpretationThe effective control of COVID-19 in Australia appears to have mitigated the initial impact of COVID-19 on systemic cancer therapy. We observed only small and temporary changes in the use of some cancer medicines early in the pandemic.
fundingNational Health and Medical Research Council; National Breast Cancer Foundation; Translational Cancer Research Network, supported by the Cancer Institute NSW.
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