Share this Page:
As many of you know, the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed early diagnosis and treatment of cancer. This may have set cancer outcomes back by almost a decade in Europe, according to a report published in The Lancet Oncology.
In this report it is estimated that about 1 million cancer diagnoses were missed across Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic. These missing cancers need to be found quickly before they spread: read more in The Lancet Oncology here. The data showed that during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic European clinicians saw 1.5 million fewer patients with cancer, and 100 million cancer screening tests were missed. This suggests that up to 1 million Europeans might have an undiagnosed cancer.
Additionally, cancer research was severely affected: laboratories shut down and clinical trials were delayed or cancelled in the first pandemic wave.
Twelve recommendations have been made to “reimagine cancer research and its implementation in Europe.” The recommendations and other key findings from the report are outlined in the publication below.