Cancer detections and diagnoses are delayed after COVID, which can lead to delays in treatment

Screening tests for several common cancers have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, which could lead to diagnoses later in the course of the disease, when it may be more difficult to treat successfully, US data suggests Thursday.

In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, average screening rates for breast cancer fell by 40%, cervical cancer by 36%, and colorectal cancer by 45%, compared to the previous three years, according to a medical analysis. claims data from 306 million adults.

Diagnoses of breast, cervical and colorectal cancer fell by about 6% to 7% between 2019 and 2020 and by an additional 5% to 6% between 2020 and 2021, the researchers also found .

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The decline in diagnoses “doesn’t mean these cancers are suddenly less common,” said study leader Allison Oakes of data analytics firm Trilliant Health in Brentwood, Tenn. “Rather, it means that there are people with cancer who will be diagnosed at a later and more severe stage of the disease.”

By the end of 2021, screening rates had recovered but were still below pre-pandemic levels, the researchers reported in JAMA Oncology.

A patient undergoes a breast cancer test in Nairobi, Kenya on January 23, 2020.
(REUTERS/Njeri Mwangi/File Photo)

Ongoing analysis of the 2022 data suggests that screening rates in 2022 are unlikely to have improved dramatically, Oakes said.

“We don’t see significant changes in behavior when we look quarter-on-quarter,” he added.

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The problem appears to go beyond cancer testing, the study found.

Oakes said health care utilization for non-COVID and mental health issues in the first quarter of 2022 was 6.2% lower than in the first quarter of 2019.

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“Not only are people missing out on annual cancer screenings, they’re using less primary care,” Oakes said.

“While Americans seem to be returning to normal daily life, whether it’s office work or leisure travel, many of them are still avoiding the health care system.”