Delayed Melanoma Diagnoses from COVID-19 Lockdown Cost £6 Billion in Europe

Source: Inside Precision Medicine, February 2024

A new study has shown that delays in diagnosis of melanoma in Europe due to COVID-19 lockdowns may have contributed to the loss of more than 100,000 life-years and costs that exceed £6 billion, mostly related to loss of productivity. The research, published last week in a new JAMA Network Open paper underscores the importance of early diagnosis of disease and these unintended consequences may help inform how to manage future pandemics.

“When lockdowns were introduced as a much-needed measure to stop the spread of Covid-19, there were extensive unintended consequences. Many screenings were canceled and medical treatments were delayed,” said co-lead author Kaustubh Adhikari, PhD, a statistical geneticist with University College London (UCL), which led the study along with University Hospital of Basel researchers. “As many people missed appointments to detect or treat skin cancer, their cancer progressed to a later stage, which resulted in more expensive care and a greater risk that the treatment would not be successful.”

The study included researchers from the U.K., Switzerland, Germany, U.S., Italy, Australia and Hungary who were seeking to understand the health economic consequences of delays of diagnosing melanoma. The researchers used information from more than 50,000 patients from two treatment centers in Switzerland and Italy, with additional supporting data from the U.K. and Belgium.
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