Cancer imaging scans have fallen about 25 per cent

Some procedures put off where the delay doesn’t affect patient outcome

Cancer patients are having fewer imaging scans since hospitals have shifted focus to COVID-19 patients, according to Cancer Care Ontario. The number of CT and MRI scans to diagnose, stage and evaluate cancers has fallen in the province by 24 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively, new data from the agency show.

Between March15 and May10, there were 36,619 CT scans, compared to 48,474 during a similar time frame last year. MRI scans fell to 8,328 this year from 11,188 during the same period last year.

“Health-care providers are doing their best to prioritize CT and MRI scans to support cancer surgeries, diagnose new cancers and evaluate the stage of existing cancers,” said Dr. Robin McLeod, vice-president, clinical programs and quality initiatives at Cancer Care Ontario, part of Ontario Health.

“However, some imaging may be postponed in cases where the health-care provider has determined the delay is unlikely to impact a patient’s outcome,” she added.

Cancer surgery and routine screening have also slowed during the pandemic, according to Cancer Care Ontario. The number of surgeries performed between March15 and May10 was 33 per cent lower than during the same period last year. Mammograms done as part of the Ontario Breast Cancer Screening Program were down 49 per cent in March, year over year. Diagnostic Pap tests done as part of the Ontario Cervical Screening Program fell by 48 per cent, also in March.

Cancer care has been reduced so hospitals can manage the influx of COVID-19 patients and also help long-term-care homes, a sector hit hard by the pandemic, McLeod explained.

“We are looking at how hospitals can safely increase diagnostic imaging in alignment with the province’s framework on reintroducing scheduled care,” she said.

The provincial government on Thursday greenlit hospitals to ramp up surgeries and procedures that were halted or scaled back because of the pandemic.

“It is very welcome to see the shift happening because you can only delay these things for so long before it starts to have an impact on outcomes,” said Sandra Krueckl, vice-president of cancer control with the Canadian Cancer Society, a charitable advocacy organization.

The cancer-care system will somehow have to deal with the backlogs, but doing so during an ongoing pandemic will be a challenge, she said.

“It will be a challenging balancing act for our health system, but it is definitely critical as the pandemic continues.”

Dr. Jonathan Irish, the provincial lead on cancer surgery, said surgeons may have to work double shifts and weekends to catch up with their backlogs.

“As we increase activity, we want to make sure that we’re not overloading the system so that we create unsafe environments for our cancer patients or any other patients who require surgery,” said Irish, of the University Health Network.