How Will Growing Cancer Cases Impact Cancer Centers?

Cancer centers are “overrun at all levels,” according to recent reports, with “burn-out” seen at all areas within oncology departments, recruitment problems, and a massive volume of cases to be screened, treated, and abstracted. But how can leaders overcome these challenges – and what should they expect in the coming years? 

This article explores how the rising volume of cancer cases will impact cancer centers, exploring the latest research on the issue – as well as exploring possible solutions. 

Expect to learn: 

• How “early-onset” cancer is driving rising incidence rates 
• Why trial recruitment is one of the most pressing problems for cancer care 
• How automation can ease the burden of staffing shortages across many areas of cancer centers 

US Cancer Cases Are Rising Fast 

US cancer deaths have decreased by  33% since 1991 due to several factors, including fewer people smoking and advances in early detection and treatment. But this incredible progress is undercut by another trend: rapidly rising rates of cancer that have led experts to project annual cases to more than double by 2050. 

This is driven in large part by an increase in “early-onset” cancer cases – i.e., those impacting young people (defined as 49 and under). The American Cancer Society (ACS) reports that the number of “early-onset” cancer cases has grown 1-2% each year since 1995. Yale Medicine notes that this problem may be exacerbated by the fact that younger people are not recommended for most routine cancer screenings. 

As a result, there are public health campaigns devoted to increasing cancer awareness and more regular tests across all demographics. This makes sense, as four of the six cancer types currently on the rise are screenable. But it does place extra pressure on cancer centers – which already face dire challenges. 

How Does this Impact Cancer Centers? 

The growing volume of cases and demand for screening creates a “perfect storm” for cancer centers that are already struggling: 

• Workflow Shortages: The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) predicted a major shortfall of oncologists by 2025, and this trend has only been exacerbated by COVID-19 and the larger crisis in healthcare staffing. From cancer specialists to oncology data specialists (ODSs), staffing shortages have led to delays in care, hefty case backlogs, and excess costs for organizations. More than 50% of cancer registries report staffing shortages, which has a widespread impact on cancer reporting and data collection. 
• Budget Cuts: The combination of staffing shortages and excess cases already puts heavy pressure on cancer centers’ limited budgets, but there is also reason to think funding may decrease in the coming years. The US National Cancer Institute (NCI) experienced a heavy budget cut, which experts fear will impact cancer research – and, therefore, care – across the country. 
• Research Difficulties: These funding challenges are exacerbated by existing problems with cancer research – namely, low trial accrual rates that lead over two-thirds of clinical trials to meet their recruitment targets. This is driven by a range of complex factors, but the net result is relatively simple: research is not being completed at the scale or with the level of robust quality experts want to see. 

The result? Fewer treatment options are available, the quality of care is reduced, and patient outcomes are likely to be negatively impacted. 

How Will Cancer Centers Manage Increasing Cancer Cases? 

Many cancer centers will tackle staffing shortages and budget challenges by increasing their use of outsourced labor. In fact, a recent study suggested that the medical outsourcing market would more than double between 2022 and 2027. But this is not a sustainable trend – or a plausible solution. 

Take cancer registries: outsourcing has become prevalent here, as reporting caseloads place growing pressure on organizations to increase productivity. 58% of leaders say there is an “urgent” need for more full-time ODSs, but outsourcing has two clear downsides: 

• Costs: Hiring external personnel to help handle growing caseloads is expensive and can add to the financial burdens cancer centers already face. 
• Quality: Over 40% say there is a noticeable difference between the quality of work produced by outsourced and in-house staff

As a result, a more effective solution has been presented: widespread process automation. Using cutting-edge technology to ingest and analyze cancer data, forward-thinking cancer centers can: 

• Streamline Registry Workflows: Automated technology can complete manual and repetitive casefinding tasks in seconds and pre-abstract cases to dramatically accelerate registrars’ jobs and enable even short-staffed registries to get on top of their backlogs.  
• Enhance Data Quality: Automation helps to eliminate a wide range of common human errors, ensuring the data collected is more accurate and reliable.  
• Reduce Cost: Improved processes lead to greater efficiency, lessen staffing requirements, and ultimately save money for the cancer center. 
• Improve Trial Recruitment: With the capacity to quickly and accurately search massive patient populations for eligible candidates, cancer centers can recruit for clinical trials with far greater confidence and precision – helping to give more patients access to novel treatments and complete more cutting-edge research. 

Leverage Best-in-Class Automation with Inspirata 

Inspirata’s natural-language processing (NLP) technology has been developed over decades and trained on an unparalleled volume of cancer data. This gives our products an unquestionable edge over other AI-driven automation – and helps to unlock hidden value within your cancer center’s data. 

Want to explore how it could help you tackle growing caseload volumes and demand for real-time data?