The federal government is providing $1.2 billion to help build a new hospital complex on the James Bay Coast, easing residents鈥 fears that construction wouldn鈥檛 start this year.
Cancer diagnoses in Canadian children not delayed in first 9 months of pandemic: study
A new study has found no significant change in the number of new cancer diagnoses in Canadian children during the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting health-care restrictions imposed at that time did not lead to delayed diagnoses.
The study, published on Monday in the , compared detection rates before and during the early phase of the pandemic, or between March 2016 and November 2020.
It included all patients entered into the Cancer in Young People in Canada registry who were younger than 15 years old at the time of their cancer diagnosis, were diagnosed with a neoplasm 鈥 or an abnormal mass of tissue 鈥 as per the International Classification of Childhood Cancer, and diagnosed and received treatment at one of 17 paediatric haematology-oncology centres in Canada.
"Our findings suggest that among children in Canada, cancer diagnosis was not delayed during the pandemic, unlike findings described in previous reports," Dr. Marie-Claude Pelland-Marcotte, an oncologist at CHU de Qu茅bec-Universit茅 Laval, and her co-authors wrote in their study.
"Although access to emergency departments markedly dropped during the pandemic, there may have been less reluctance by families and health-care professionals to access health care for serious symptomatology."
The authors also found "no significant differences in the proportion of patients enrolled in a clinical trial, presenting with metastatic disease or who died within 30 days of presentation."
The study comes amid reports throughout much of the pandemic of delayed procedures and screenings due to pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions 鈥 and concerns about the onset of more advanced stages of disease as a result.
The researchers cite evidence from other countries, namely the Netherlands and United Kingdom, which showed as much as a 50 per cent reduction in cancer incidence in adults after March 2020.
The Canadian study cautioned that there may be further changes in cancer detection and outcomes in the long term, given the study only looked at the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Although these results are reassuring, continued surveillance is necessary to ascertain potential long-term negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic among children with cancer," the researchers say.
Other studies in adults also found decreases in new cancer diagnoses, visits, therapies and surgeries, the researchers note, "raising concerns about potential excess cancer mortality in the upcoming years."
They say this may be explained, in part, by the suspension or reduction of cancer screenings, such as mammography, colonoscopy and cervical cytology by up to 90 per cent.
A study in Japan of 123 patients with colorectal cancer also reported significantly more cases of complete intestinal obstruction, suggesting that detection delays may have contributed to diagnoses at later stages of the disease.
"It is unclear whether these findings apply to childhood cancer because cancer screening is not part of routine paediatric care, and early detection may not be as important in childhood cancer than in its adult counterpart," the authors write.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
The cooking method you need to learn to get excited about vegetables this fall, expert says
'Eat more vegetables,' doctors and dietitians say over and over. But for many people, it鈥檚 hard to do, because they aren鈥檛 excited about veggies or just don鈥檛 like them.
British leader Starmer's chief of staff quits over reports about salary
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff quit on Sunday, citing concerns that growing news reports about her role 'risked becoming a distraction to the government.'
A Toronto police officer has been arrested after allegedly stealing three bottles of alcohol from a store.
The eight sons of Richard and Sarah Harvie from Gormanville, N.S., are believed to be the most siblings from one family, from either North America or the British Commonwealth, to serve in World War II.
Frequent drinking of fizzy beverages and fruit juice linked to an increased risk of stroke: research
New data raises questions about the drinks people consume and the potential risks associated with them, according to researchers at Galway University in Ireland, in partnership with Hamilton鈥檚 McMaster University.
A 30-year-old northwestern Ontario woman has been charged with arson following a structure fire Thursday night, police say.
Tropical Storm Milton could hit Florida as a major hurricane midweek
People across Florida were given notice Sunday that Milton, for now just a tropical storm off the coast of Mexico, could intensify rapidly into a major hurricane before slamming midweek into the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast.
Liberal, Conservative MPs to speak at Oct. 7 march to Parliament Hill
A Liberal MP and a Conservative MP will be part of a team delivering speeches at an event in Ottawa commemorating the one year anniversary of the attacks on Oct. 7.
Local Spotlight
Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.
From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.
A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.
The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.
A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.
Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north
What does New Westminster's t蓹m蓹sew虛tx史 Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.
The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.
New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.