Comparison of cancer waiting time targets in urology, pre-COVID era, and during the COVID era – A single-center experience

Objectives: The objective of this study is to measure the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on treatment targets for urgent urology cases in our hospital and compare it with previous research publications. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively collected and analyzed data over 10 months for 2 consecutive years. The data were analyzed from April to October in 2019 and 2020. This includes all suspected cancer. We collected a total number of referrals, time to the first consultation, and time of first definitive treatment. Results: The total number of patients referred in 2019 pre-COVID was 478 as compared to 278 in the subsequent year at the time of the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. A total number of 118 cancers were detected in 2019 which makes up 24.6% of the total patients referred. Forty-one patients received treatment >62 days. This is 41 (34.7%) of the cancers or 8.5% of the referrals. Similarly, 60 patients were detected with cancer in 2020 making up 22.2% of the total referrals. Nineteen patients received treatment >62 days. This equates to 31.6% of the cancers or 7% of the total referrals. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic peak, though we did see a slight improvement in the total number of patients breached for their targeted dates of cancer treatment, this is largely due to the significant reduction of around 44% in the total number of referrals. This data also strengthens other large studies for other cancers which show a significantly lower number of patients being referred for cancer diagnosis.