Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on skin cancer diagnosis: A population-based study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and has led to drastic reductions in non-urgent medical visits. Deferral of these visits may have critical health impact, including delayed diagnosis for melanoma and other skin cancers. We examined the influence of the pandemic on skin biopsy rates in a large population-based cohort.

Methods

Using a universal health care claims dataset from Ontario, we examined skin biopsies from January 6, 2020 to September 27, 2020, and compared these to the same period for 2019. Those diagnosed with anogenital cancers, younger than 20 years, residing out-of-province and with lapses in coverage were excluded. The sensitivity and specificity of claims diagnoses compared to a validated algorithm to identify keratinocyte carcinoma (KC),

SUBMITTER: Asai Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8011724 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature