Impact of Covid-19 on Cancer Patients
Experiences of the German Cancer Information Service at DKFZ (CIS)
According to experts, cancer patients with an impaired immune system, e.g., due to therapy or disease, are at higher risk for a more severe course of COVID-19. This has worried patients and their relatives considerably. In the beginning of the Corona-pandemic, the number of people who contacted the German Cancer Information Service rose significantly. In order to quickly adapt our services to the demanding new situation, we analyzed the incoming requests, expanded our knowledge database on Corona topics and extended corresponding contents on our website.
Numbers and Facts:
To obtain insight into the topics most relevant for our inquirers, we analyzed our documentation data on Corona-related topics and compared the results with the corresponding reference period in 2019.
Between 1st of April and 30th of September 2020, about 8% (1,202 out of 15,644) of the inquiries received by the German Cancer Information Service were related to Corona. We observed an increase in the number of clients who were cancer patients or relatives (together 87% versus 74% in the reference period 2019). While in 2020 only 1.2% of the enquiries came from professionals, they accounted for 5% of our total requests during the 2019 reference period.
In 2019, approximately 39% of incoming inquiries were related to the disease phases of the 1st treatment block, after the 1st treatment block or during maintenance therapy. During the pandemic, about 68% of incoming inquiries related to these phases of the disease. Inquiries from people without cancer, right after diagnosis, during relapse or in palliative care were significantly less frequent.
In fact, the majority of requests of women and men during the COVID-19 pandemic mainly related to the same tumor localizations as before: breast and prostate carcinomas. In both sexes, however, there was a shift in the second most common tumor localization of our clients: Among women as well as men, these were now malignant lymphomas, which prior to Corona were only the fifth most commonly asked tumor sites – with colorectal tumors being as frequent as malignant lymphomas in men.
Frequently asked questions:
To deal with the huge number of questions at the beginning of the pandemic and in order to answer them quickly, systematically and uncomplicatedly, we compiled the answers to frequently asked questions on our website under https://www.krebsinformationsdienst.de/leben/alltag/coronavirus-krebs-haeufige-fragen.php.
Most frequently, users asked whether a patient is at a higher risk for a severe course of COVID-19 (65.9%), and whether particular precaution measures are advisable. Therefore, we provided a questionnaire on our website, which allows a rough assessment of the risk group affiliation. Other common questions related to „life with cancer and COVID-19“as well as to „psychosocial and legal aspects of cancer and COVID-19“ are addressed – among many others – on the website.
A comprehensive list of sources, links and scientific publications on Corona and cancer complied for interested parties and professionals currently complete our online information.
Contact details for further questions:
Susanne Weg-Remers and Karin Greulich-Bode, German Cancer Information Service, krebsinformationsdienst@dkfz.de