Feletto Eleonora, Grogan Paul, Nickson Carolyn, Smith Megan, Canfell Karen
Cancer Research Division, Cancer Council NSW, Sydney, Australia; School of Public Health, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia;
Cancer Research Division, Cancer Council NSW, Sydney, Australia; School of Public Health, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Public Health Res Pract. 2020 Dec 9;30(4):3042026. doi: 10.17061/phrp3042026.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused major disruptions to many aspects of life in Australia and globally. This includes actual and potential future impacts on Australia's three national screening programs for breast, bowel and cervical cancer. These programs aim to improve cancer outcomes through an organised approach to the early detection of cancer and precancer in asymptomatic populations. The design of each program varies according to biological differences in the three cancers, the available screening technology, the target population, and variations in their administration of Australia's federal, state and territory jurisdictions. The observed and potential impacts of COVID-19 on these programs, and on related activities such as the current national enquiry into lung cancer screening feasibility, therefore vary significantly. This article focuses on observed short-term impacts, adaptations and the longer-term outlook for cancer screening in relation to COVID-19. It summarises potential responses to minimise the harms of disruptions caused by COVID-19, and highlights research and policy opportunities in the pandemic response and recovery which could inform and accelerate optimisation of cancer screening in the long term.
2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行给澳大利亚乃至全球生活的许多方面都带来了重大干扰。这包括对澳大利亚针对乳腺癌、肠癌和宫颈癌的三项全国筛查计划产生的实际及潜在的未来影响。这些计划旨在通过有组织的方法在无症状人群中早期发现癌症和癌前病变，从而改善癌症治疗效果。每个计划的设计因三种癌症的生物学差异、可用的筛查技术、目标人群以及澳大利亚联邦、州和领地司法管辖区在管理上的差异而有所不同。因此，COVID-19对这些计划以及对相关活动（如当前对肺癌筛查可行性的全国性调查）所产生的已观察到的和潜在的影响差异很大。本文重点关注与COVID-19相关的已观察到的癌症筛查短期影响、调整措施及长期前景。它总结了为尽量减少COVID-19造成的干扰危害而可能采取的应对措施，并强调了疫情应对和恢复过程中的研究及政策机遇，这些机遇可为长期优化癌症筛查提供参考并加速其进程。
