Cancer incidence during pandemic lower than expected

Overall cancer incidence in the U.S. was significantly lower than expected during the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to research published February 22 in JAMA Oncology. A team led by Krystle Lang Kuhs, PhD, from the University of Kentucky in Lexington found that cancer incidence from March to December 2020 included 134,395 potentially undiagnosed cancer cases, lower than expected. “These findings identify a substantial deficit of diagnosed cancer cases in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which underscores the need to reengage individuals in recommended cancer screenings and routine healthcare visits,” the Kuhs team wrote. The pandemic led to the temporary closure of nonemergency health services during the first few months of 2020 when resources were allocated to combating the coronavirus. This included postponement and cancellation of health screening appointments for breast, lung, and colorectal cancers to name a few. Radiology leaders have expressed concern since then that these missed screenings could lead to more cancer cases down the line since they were undetected. Kuhs and colleagues noted that data for analyzing the relationship between pandemic response and cancer diagnoses have not been available until recently. The researchers used 2020 U.S. cancer incidence data to study disruptions and delays in cancer diagnoses during the first year of the pandemic. They analyzed data from 1,297,874 cancer cases reported between March...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Subspecialties CT Breast Imaging Source Type: news