Treatment interruptions in disaster victims are concerning, owing to an increase in natural disasters and the growing elderly population with chronic conditions. This study examined the temporal trends in treatment interruptions among victims of 2 recent major heavy rain disasters in Japan: West Japan heavy rain in 2018 and Kumamoto heavy rain in 2020.

Data for this study were derived from the national standardized medical data collection system called the “Japan Surveillance in Post-Extreme Emergencies and Disasters.” Joinpoint regression analysis was performed to examine the daily trends in treatment interruptions reported soon after each disaster onset.

A total of 144 and 87 treatment interruption cases were observed in the heavily affected areas of the West Japan heavy rain in 2018 and Kumamoto heavy rain in 2020, respectively. In both disasters, a high number of treatment interruption cases were observed on the first day after the disaster. Joinpoint regression analysis showed that trends in the percentage of treatment interruptions differed between the 2 disasters at different disaster scales.

The findings suggest the importance of a prompt response to treatment interruptions in the immediate aftermath of a disaster and consideration of the specific characteristics of the disaster when planning for disaster preparedness and response.

Cancer patients are among the most vulnerable populations during and after a disaster. We evaluated the impact of treatment interruption on the survival of women with gynecologic cancer in Puerto Rico following Hurricanes Irma and María.

A retrospective cohort study among a clinic-based sample of women with gynecological cancer diagnosed between January 2016 and September 2017 (n = 112) was done. Women were followed from their diagnosis until December 2019, to assess vital status. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazards models were performed.

Mean age was 56 (± 12.3) years; corpus uteri (58.9%) was the most common gynecologic cancer. Predominant treatments were surgery (91.1%) and chemotherapy (44.6%). Overall, 75.9% were receiving treatment before the hurricanes, 16.1% experienced treatment interruptions, and 8.9% died during the follow-up period. Factors associated with treatment interruption in bivariate analysis included younger age (≤55 years), having regional/distant disease, and receiving > 1 cancer treatment (P < 0.05). Crude analysis revealed an increased risk of death among women with treatment interruption (HR: 3.88, 95% CI: 1.09-13.77), persisting after adjusting for age and cancer stage (HR: 2.49, 95% CI: 0.69-9.01).

Findings underscore the detrimental impact of treatment interruption on cancer survival in the aftermath of hurricanes, emphasizing the need for emergency response plans for this vulnerable population.