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Significant Decrease in Annual Cancer Diagnoses in Spain during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Real-Data Study
Sofía Ruiz-Medina1, Silvia Gil1, Begoña Jimenez1
1Medical Oncology Intercenter Unit, Regional and Virgen de la Victoria University Hospitals, IBIMA, 29010 Málaga, Spain.
Cancers
|July 2, 2021
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced new cancer diagnoses by 17.2% in 2020 compared to 2019. This decline, particularly in breast, colorectal, and head and neck cancers, highlights a critical impairment in cancer diagnosis rates.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered healthcare delivery globally.
- Cancer diagnosis and treatment pathways were significantly disrupted.
- Understanding the pandemic's impact on cancer detection is crucial for public health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the annual rate of new cancer diagnoses.
- To compare cancer diagnosis rates in the first year of the pandemic with pre-pandemic years.
- To identify specific cancer types most affected by diagnostic delays.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study comparing new cancer diagnoses in two hospitals.
- Data from the first year of the pandemic (2020) were compared to 2019, 2018, and 2017.
- Statistical analysis was used to determine the significance of observed differences.
Main Results:
- A significant 17.2% decrease in new cancer diagnoses was observed in 2020 compared to 2019 (p = 0.0001).
- No significant differences were found between 2018-2019 or 2017-2019.
- Breast cancer (-26.1%), colorectal neoplasms (-16.9%), and head and neck tumors (-19.8%) showed the largest diagnostic declines.
Conclusions:
- The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impaired the diagnosis of new cancer patients.
- Health systems must implement strategies to resume pre-pandemic diagnostic levels.
- Efforts are needed to identify and diagnose patients missed during the pandemic.
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