Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lymphoma incidence and short-term survival – a Swedish Lymphoma Register Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.2340/1651-226X.2024.35238Keywords:
COVID-19, pandemic, lymphoma, incidence, mortalityAbstract
Background & purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic posed a large challenge for healthcare systems across the world. Comprehensive data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on incidence and mortality in lymphoma are lacking.
Patients/methods: Using data from the Swedish lymphoma register, we compare incidence and 1-year survival of lymphoma patients in Sweden before (2017–2019) and during the pandemic (2020 and 2021).
Results: Fewer patients were diagnosed with lymphomas during March–June 2020, but the annual incidence rates for 2020 and 2021 were similar to those of 2017–2019. A larger proportion of patients presented with stage IV disease during 2021. There were no differences in other base-line characteristics nor application of active treatment in pre-pandemic and pandemic years. One-year overall survival was not inferior among lymphoma patients during the pandemic years compared to pre-pandemic years i.e., 2017–2019.
Interpretation: The COVID-19 pandemic had limited impact on the incidence and mortality of lymphoma in Sweden.
Downloads
References
Ludvigsson JF. The first eight months of Sweden’s COVID-19 strategy and the key actions and actors that were involved. Acta Paediatr. 2020;109(12):2459–71.
https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.15582 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.15582
Ludvigsson JF. How Sweden approached the COVID-19 pandemic: summary and commentary on the National Commission Inquiry. Acta Paediatr. 2023;112(1):19–33.
https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.16535 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.16535
Toscano O, Cosentino N, Campodonico J, et al. Acute myocardial infarction during the COVID-19 pandemic: an update on clinical characteristics and outcomes. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2021;8:648290.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2021.648290 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2021.648290
Heer E, Ruan Y, Boyne DJ, et al. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnoses, stage and survival in Alberta. CMAJ. 2023;195(23):E804–12.
https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.221512 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.221512
Morais S, Antunes L, Rodrigues J, et al. The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in Northern Portugal. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2022;31(2):204–14.
https://doi.org/10.1097/CEJ.0000000000000686 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/CEJ.0000000000000686
Jacob L, Loosen SH, Kalder M, et al. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnoses in general and specialized practices in Germany. Cancers (Basel). 2021;13(3).
https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13030408 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13030408
Eskander A, Li Q, Yu J, et al. Incident cancer detection during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2022;20(3):276–84.
https://doi.org/10.6004/jnccn.2021.7114 DOI: https://doi.org/10.6004/jnccn.2021.7114
Altmejd A, Östergren O, Björkegren E, et al. Inequality and COVID-19 in Sweden: relative risks of nine bad life events, by four social gradients, in pandemic vs. prepandemic years. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2023;120(46):e2303640120.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2303640120 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2303640120
Larfors G, Pahnke S, State M, et al. Covid-19 intensive care admissions and mortality among Swedish patients with cancer. Acta Oncol. 2021;60(1):32–4.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0284186X.2020.1854481 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0284186X.2020.1854481
Duléry R, Lamure S, Delord M, et al. Prolonged in-hospital stay and higher mortality after Covid-19 among patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma treated with B-cell depleting immunotherapy. Am J Hematol. 2021;96(8):934–44.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ajh.26209 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ajh.26209
Elliott EK, Hensen R, Haupt LM, et al. Global reported impacts of COVID-19 on lymphoma patients and the emerging clinical management approaches in response to the ongoing pandemic. Eur J Haematol. 2023;110(5):457–69.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ejh.13926 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ejh.13926
Jerkeman M. Swedish lymphoma registry 2000–2012. RCC Syd (Regional Cancer Center South). Lund; 2014.
Smedby KE. Validering av nationellt kvalitetsregister för lymfom 2022–2023. Unpublished data: Stockholm.
HMD. Human mortality database.
Visco C, Marcheselli L, Mina R, et al. A prognostic model for patients with lymphoma and COVID-19: a multicentre cohort study. Blood Adv. 2022;6(1):327–38.
https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2021005691 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2021005691
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Sara Ekberg, Daniel Molin, Simon Pahnke, Fanny Bergström, Elsa Brånvall, Karin E. Smedby, Tove Wästerlid
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.