Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on primary and metastatic lung cancer treatments in Japan: A nationwide study using an interrupted time series analysis

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic prompted healthcare providers to use different approaches from the current standards of care. We aimed to identify the changes in the number of treatments for primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and metastatic lung cancer during the pandemic. Methods: We used nationwide insurance claims data from January 2015 to January 2021, and estimated changes in the number of treatments using an interrupted time series analysis. Results: The number of surgical resections for primary NSCLC significantly decreased in April 2020 (−888; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −1530 to −246) and July 2020 (−1314; 95% CI: −1935 to −694), while the number of stereotactic body radiotherapies (SBRTs) increased in April 2020 (95; 95% CI: 8–182) and July 2020 (111; 95% CI: 24–198). The total number of treatments for primary NSCLC remained unchanged; however, non-significant decreases were observed in 2020. The number of surgical resections for metastatic lung cancer significantly decreased in April 2020 (−201; 95% CI: −337 to −65), but it eventually increased in July 2020 (170; 95% CI: 32–308). Additionally, the number of SBRTs significantly increased in April 2020 (37; 95% CI: 3–71) and October 2020 (57; 95% CI: 23–91). The total number of treatments for metastatic lung cancer was maintained, with an initial decrease in April 2020 followed by a subsequent increase in July and October 2020. Conclusion: In Japan, surgical triage for primary and metastatic lung cancer are likely to have been implemented during the pandemic. Despite these proactive measures, patients with primary NSCLC may have been untreated, likely owing to their undiagnosed disease, potentially leading to a deterioration in prognosis. By contrast, patients diagnosed with cancer prior to the pandemic are presumed to have received standard management throughout the course of the pandemic.