Richa Shah: My Forever Paper
Richa Shah, Post-doctoral Scientist at IARC/WHO, shared a post on LinkedIn about a recent paper by her and colleagues published in Nature Cancer:
“My Forever Paper.
In academia, we all have that one paper (I like calling it Forever Paper) — a project that spans years, countless sleepless nights, and immense effort to bring to completion.
Today, I am thrilled to share that my paper, The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on delays and disruptions in cancer care services: a systematic review and meta-analysis, has been published in Springer Nature in Nature Cancer.
This paper was the result of incredible teamwork and dedication. I extend my deepest gratitude to:
- My amazing co-authors for enduring the gruelling screening of ~10,000 published studies and extracting data from 245 studies.
- Michael David and Sam Egger for tirelessly conducting multiple rounds of meta-analyses.
- Isabelle Soerjomataram for her invaluable mentorship and guidance.
- Editors Diana Romero and Alexia-Ileana Zaromytidou for believing in this study and supporting its publication.
Our study highlights the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer care worldwide. We found:
- 39.0% decline in cancer screening participation.
- 23.0% decline in diagnoses.
- 24.0% decline in diagnostic procedures.
- 28.0% decline in treatment delivery—ranging from a 15.0% decrease for radiotherapy to a 35.0% decrease for systemic treatment.
Our findings emphasize the need for targeted interventions to rebuild systems and close the gaps exacerbated during this crisis.
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to this monumental effort. I hope this work serves as a foundation for improving global cancer care preparedness and equity in future crises.”
Authors: Richa Shah, Nader Mounir Hanna, Ching Ee Loo, Michael David, Allini Mafra, Hanna Fink, Ethna McFerran, Montse Garcia, Robabeh Ghodssighassemabadi, Suryakanta Acharya, Jean Niyibaga, Oliver Langselius, Clara Frick, Nwamaka Lasebikan, Jerome Vignat, Julia Steinberg, Suzanne Hughes, Colleen Elizabeth Kircher, Catherine Lindsay Goldie, Sam Egger, Richard Sullivan, Ophira Ginsburg, Freddie Bray, Michael Caruana, Harriet Hui, André Michel Ilbawi, Karen Canfell and Isabell Soerjomataram.
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