Cancer Screenings Drop as COVID Fears Rise.

• Position: PANDEMIC

There may be as many as 10,000 unnecessary deaths due to breast and colorectal cancer in the next 10 years. These could be avoided if cancer screenings increase, according to a published editorial by the National Cancer Institute.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, cancer screenings have dropped significantly. Although a specific percentage cannot be ascertained (as it invariably differs according to geographical region and medical-specialty data), to cite one example: New York's Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center has reported a drop of between 30% and 50% of individuals seeking cancer care.

In a letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association, clinical laboratory Quest Diagnostics reported a decrease of 46.4% in new diagnoses of the main six types of cancer--breast, colorectal, lung, gastric, pancreatic, and esophageal--during a recent two-month period. Breast cancer showed the largest drop while pancreatic cancer showed the smallest decrease with 51.8% and 24.7%, respectively.

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