After multiple studies showed routine cancer screenings dropped during earlier stages of the pandemic, some oncologists are now beginning to see an increase in patients presenting with advanced stage cancer, The New York Times reported March 17.
"There's no question in practice we are seeing patients with more advanced breast cancer and colorectal cancer," Lucio Gordan, MD, president of Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute in Fort Myers, told the Times.
A number of pandemic-related factors are responsible for the drop in regular cancer screenings, including earlier closures of clinics and testing labs. When clinics reopened, the fear of contracting COVID-19 led some patients to skip their routine test or ignore symptoms.
The Times cited an analysis that showed by mid-June, the screening rates for breast, colon and cervical cancers were still 29 percent to 36 percent lower than prepandemic levels.
"The fear of Covid was more tangible than the fear of missing a screen that detected cancer," Patrick Borgen, MD, chair of the surgery department and head of breast cancer care at New York City-based Maimonides Medical Center, told the Times.
Cancer specialists said it's still too early to capture the full picture of how much screening delays affected disease severity, and that additional research is ongoing to assess the link.
To read the full New York Times article, click here.