People diagnosed with cancer during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic had lower survival rates than those diagnosed in the years before, according to a University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center study published in JAMA Oncology Feb. 5.
The research found that patients diagnosed with cancer in 2020 and '21 were less likely to survive their first year after diagnosis compared to patients diagnosed between 2015 and '19. The study estimates there were about 13% more cancer-related deaths within one year of diagnosis than expected during this period.
The findings suggest cancer care disruptions during the first two years of the pandemic affected patient outcomes.
"It's unfortunate that, during a time when so much focus was on preserving lives from a novel respiratory virus, we failed to maintain existing levels of care for individuals faced with a cancer diagnosis," said the study's senior author, Todd Burus, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UK College of Medicine and member of the UK Markey Cancer Center's Community Impact Office.
The population study analyzed data from more than one million people diagnosed with cancer during 2020 and '21 using the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database, which covers about 42% of the U.S. population.
Survival reductions occurred across both early- and late-stage cancer diagnoses, with patients 65 and older experiencing some of the largest decreases. The study also identified significant drops in survival for specific cancers, including colorectal, pancreatic and prostate cancers.
The findings follow two previous Markey-led studies published in February and September 2024, which estimated nearly 150,000 potentially undiagnosed cancer cases during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Together, research suggests that pandemic-related disruptions in screening, diagnosis and treatment resulted in worse outcomes for cancer patients. The study's authors point to the need for increased cancer screening, rebuilt health care capacity and better preparation for future public health disruptions.
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers P30CA177558 and P30CA138313. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
