Surgeries that are not essential for life are postponed, early detection programs are shortened. But above all, patients shy away from going to the doctor - for fear of a corona infection. Some cancer diagnoses could be made later. Will more people die of cancer?
Munich / Berlin (dpa) - Scientists and doctors warn in the corona crisis of a "bow wave of cancer cases diagnosed too late".
Until now, cancer patients have generally not had to fear any threatening supply shortages, but restrictions from the crisis situation are noticeable, said the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the German Cancer Aid and the German Cancer Society. The experts initially left open whether the number of cancer cases could increase as a result.
Cancer therapy is fundamentally secured now, said Gerd Nettekoven, chief executive of the German Cancer Aid Foundation. "But we are now also realizing that the care system is noticeably stressed and that the restrictions due to the crisis situation can have negative effects for cancer patients."
Clinic beds are currently being kept free - for corona patients who, due to the epidemic, did not come in the high numbers initially feared. Early detection programs have been cut, as have some special cancer tests. Operations that were not vital were postponed.
"We deliberately put our brakes on appointments that are not urgent," says Michael von Bergwelt, the cancer doctor at the Ludwig Maximilians University Munich (LMU) clinic. "If a patient had breast cancer five years ago, it makes no difference whether she comes to the control a month earlier or later." Visits to clinics in non-urgent cases should be reduced, but the clinics should also be prepared for the possible rush of corona patients.
It is not yet possible to predict whether there will be more cancer deaths as a result of the Corona crisis, said Bergwelt. "In a scenario in which the health system is overwhelmed for a long period of time, it has to be like this. However, based on the experience of the past few weeks, my hope would be that this is largely avoidable."
The guidelines for the treatment of certain oncological patients are currently being supplemented. "On this basis, you have to give very individual advice: how pronounced is the desire to move forward with the treatment, how big is the fear of going to the hospital now?" Acute leukemia, for example, must be treated immediately. It is always driven "on sight".
"Suspending early detection and clarification measures can only be tolerated over a short period of time, otherwise tumors may only be recognized at an advanced stage with a poorer prognosis," emphasizes Michael Baumann, CEO of the German Cancer Research Center. "We are currently seeing that people do not have symptoms clarified by a doctor."
In practices and clinics, patients stay away: fear of infection. Last but not least, cancer patients with a weakened immune system are particularly at risk. "We see significantly fewer cancer patients," says Bergwelt. "We are concerned about the fact that some patients no longer come to the doctor or do not come to the hospital at all because of fear of infection," warns Karl-Walter Jauch, Medical Director at the LMU Clinic and Chair of the Bavarian University Medical Center. These fears should be taken away from people.
Even before Corona, the experts expected an increase in cancer. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) forecast, the number will almost double by 2040. According to the World Cancer Report of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), 18.1 million people worldwide contracted cancer in 2018, and 9.6 million died. In 2040, 29 to 37 million people are likely to fall ill again. Baumann also assumed such a development at the beginning of February. The reasons are the growing and aging world population, but also "lifestyle factors".
WHO Institute for Cancer Research (general)
WHO on cancer in general
Robert Koch Institute on Cancer in Germany
German Cancer Society
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