Journal: International journal of cancer
The study analyzed changes in cancer diagnoses and stage distribution in the US from 2019 to 2022 using data from the National Cancer Database. This data includes over 3.3 million adults with newly diagnosed primary malignant cancers.
Findings showed a decline in both cancer diagnoses and the proportion of stage I cancers in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among medically underserved populations.
Although the number of diagnoses and early-stage detection increased in 2021 and 2022 compared to 2020, they had not fully returned to pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019.
The patterns varied by cancer type, highlighting the need for ongoing surveillance to understand the pandemic’s long-term impact on cancer outcomes.