Poster Presentation Abstracts

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a gradual and measured lockdown occurred in Australia from March 2020 and tightened in April 2020 This included both social restrictions as well as restrictions to elective surgical procedures in an effort to both mitigate and prepare for spread of the virus An unintended consequence has been significant reductions in cancer diagnosis and treatment Serum Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA), prostate biopsy (trans-rectal or trans-perineal) and radical prostatectomy are key investigations and interventions recommended by clinical guidelines for prostate cancer (PCA) The non-emergent nature of PCA likely renders it more susceptible to COVID-19 related restrictions We hypothesize that the number of diagnostic and interventional procedures for PCA being performed in Australia have substantially reduced as a result of COVID-19-related social and clinical restrictions Method: Medicare Item Reports were obtained from publicly listed sources for all cystoscopies in Australia from December 2019 to May 2020 Comparisons were made between April and May 2020 to the preceding 3-month average and to the same month the previous year Results: The monthly average for prostatectomies performed in Australia between December 2019 and March 2020 was 1,458 In April 2020 that number dropped to 1,112, a 29 29% decrease A similar decline was noted in PSA tests ordered in April 2020, with 12,259 tests ordered compared to the average 18,372 tests over the preceding four months, a 35 36% drop Prostate biopsy numbers followed a similar trend, falling from a national average of 1,891 to 1,496, a 27 24% decrease Conclusion: Medicare data indicates a significant decrease in PCA screening and treatment throughout the COVID-19 lockdown in Australia As the pandemic persists, we must bear in mind the significant cost delayed diagnosis and treatment has on oncological outcomes for PCA patients