Study: Decreases in cancer diagnoses during COVID-19

Editor's Note

This Canadian study finds that many cancers went undetected because of disruptions in the healthcare system in response to COVID-19.

The week-to-week rate of diagnoses was steady before COVID-19, but fell 34.2% in March 2020, with only a slow recovery of 1% per week during the study period.

The largest immediate drops in diagnoses (ie, 50% or more) at the start of COVID-19 were seen in melanoma, cervical, endocrine, and prostate cancers, and these have not returned to pre-COVID-19 levels.

There also continues to be a weekly decline in diagnoses of hepatobiliary and lung cancers.

Overall, this has resulted in 12,601 fewer individuals diagnosed with cancer than expected (had there been no pandemic) from March 15 to September 26, 2020, with an estimated weekly undetected case count of 450.

Although the pandemic is ongoing, a cancer recovery plan needs to be initiated, the authors say.