Date: 11/23/2022 / Category: Science / Statistics / Studies / Numbers
Stuttgart.
In Baden-Württemberg in the second year of the pandemic, 2021, there were again sharp declines in several cancer early detection tests for people with compulsory health insurance, which also continued in the omicron wave in the first quarter of 2022. This is demonstrated by a current analysis by the Scientific Institute of the AOK (WIdO), in which the participation numbers of those with public health insurance are compared with the pre-pandemic period. Against the backdrop of the recent burglaries, the AOK Baden-Württemberg continues its campaign for the early detection of cancer and, together with the Baden-Württemberg Cancer Association, declares November 28 the annual “Cancer Prevention Day cancer”. On this day, the health insurance company launches a “Precaution-O-Mat” on its website and activates a hotline to answer questions about early diagnosis. With its leaflet “Take the opportunity, let yourself be checked”, the Baden-Württemberg Cancer Association provides information on cancer prevention examinations and early cancer detection.
“The new annual health day is intended to raise awareness of the topic and motivate people to address the topic of early cancer detection,” says Ulrika Gebhardt, managing director of the Baden-Württemberg Cancer Association. “Investigations lost during the pandemic should be recovered. We want to give this a boost with the Cancer Prevention Day,” says PD Dr. Sabine Knapstein, doctor at AOK Baden-Württemberg.
The steepest declines occurred in the Southwest last year – as in the first pandemic year 2020 – again in the use of early skin cancer detection (down 9% compared to 2019). In the first quarter of 2022, which was characterized by the omicron wave, the decline was even greater, by minus 19.3 percent compared to the same period in 2019. The number of examinations for the early detection of cervical cancer in Baden-Württemberg last year it was 6.5% lower than in 2019 and in the first quarter of 2022 there was an even bigger decline of 11.5%. The decline in early detection of prostate cancer in Germany was less pronounced (down 4.6% in the full year 2021 and down 6.2% in the first quarter of 2022). With regard to mammography screening, the situation in Baden-Württemberg has largely normalized after a sharp decline in the first phase of the pandemic.
Compared to the same period in 2019, colonoscopies for the early detection of colorectal cancer even increased by 9.4% in 2021 and by 16.8% in the first quarter of 2022. “This is where you see the expansion of the circle of entitled insured persons and the invitation system,” says PD Dr. Sabine Knapstein. If, in addition to the increase in early-diagnosed colonoscopies, the decline in diagnostic colonoscopies is taken into account, the data from the Südwestkasse for colonoscopies in 2021 show an overall decline of 1.6% compared to 2019. The previous year was already a decline of 4 percent was recorded.
Additionally, there is still “room for improvement” with the regular use of early detection, points out PD Dr. Sabine Knapstein. For example, according to a long-term evaluation by the WIdO, only about half of eligible Baden-Württembergers who were 65 years old in the past year have been reached by the early diagnosis of colon cancer in the past decade. For skin cancer screening, 16% of men and 20% of women aged 45 to 70 used screening at least four times in the 10-year period. Things are better in Baden-Württemberg when it comes to the early diagnosis of cervical cancer: 85% of women aged 29 to 40 have been participating in it for at least three out of ten years, according to the recommendations. There are also very high participation rates for mammography screening for early detection of breast cancer, which has been implemented nationwide in Germany since 2009: only a quarter of eligible women did not take part in the period under review.
A representative Forsa survey commissioned by the Federal AOK Association in October 2022 shows a high level of acceptance for cancer screening: 94% of the approximately 1,500 respondents said that they find screening for early cancer detection useful. However, half of respondents said they at least sometimes put off their health care appointments. A quarter of people (26%) said they didn’t have the time or energy to screen for cancer due to other responsibilities. 19% said they had already delayed an early detection exam beyond the recommended follow-up date, even though in retrospect there would have been enough time to do so. “You shouldn’t put off the important topic of cancer prevention,” comments Gebhardt from the Baden-Württemberg Cancer Association. “With our joint and informational campaigns on Cancer Cure Day, we want to get people to address this often unpleasant and sometimes shameful topic.”
The Baden-Württemberg Cancer Association provides information on its social media channels (Instagram: krebsverband.bw, Facebook: Baden-Württemberg Cancer Association) on the occasion of the “Cancer Prevention Day” about all important early diagnosis and preventive tests. The AOK Baden-Württemberg is launching a series of information offers on “Cancer Prevention Day”: After entering individual information such as age and gender, a new “Prevention-O-Mat” answers the question of which tests for early diagnosis of cancer are pending and what exactly are each investigation. The new online offer can be used by anyone interested, regardless of health insurance. In addition, the AOK Baden-Württemberg has set up a prevention hotline for its policyholders: On the freephone number 0800 1 265 265, specially trained experts from the Clarimedis medical information hotline will answer all questions relating to this topic from November 28 to 2 December Early diagnosis and prevention of cancer. In addition, new information films about the process and benefits of individual early detection examinations are available on the AOK Baden-Württemberg website, which are also distributed via the social media channels of the health insurance company.
The long-term consequences of the decline in early detection screening are not yet clear. The collapse of colorectal cancer diagnostics is of particular concern. In the future, they could lead to more advanced cancers because tumors are detected later than before. An evaluation of billing data from the AOK Baden-Württemberg of clinics shows a 17 percent drop in colon cancer surgeries from January to August 2022 compared to the same period in 2019. This means that there have recently been sharp declines again , as in the first two years of the pandemic, while the situation in breast cancer surgeries has largely normalized. The slumps of the pandemic mainly concern early-stage colorectal cancer surgeries, which have not required subsequent chemotherapy. This may be related to the decline in the number of colonoscopies performed.
About Cancer Awareness Day: www.aok.de/tagderkrebsvorsorge
The “Vorsorg-O-Mat” gets its own domain www.aok.de/vorsorgomat and should be online from November 24th.
The Baden-Württemberg Cancer Society is a member of the German Cancer Society and has been active since 1973. The association sees its main task in prevention and in informing and counseling those affected. With the help of the intensive network of all stakeholders involved in cancer treatment, such as cancer cancer centres, resident oncologists, psychologists, rehabilitation centers or self-help groups, patients can receive optimal care.
Further information: www.krebsverband-bw.de; Instagram: krebsverband.bw; Facebook: Baden-Württemberg Cancer Society
