Author(s): Ian Gibbons
Mentor(s): Ray Merrill,
Institution BYU
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to lowered incidence rates of different cancers due to a lack of screening because of precautionary measures. The decreased incidence rates may have been influenced by age, sex, race/ethnicity, tumor stage, and tumor type. This study explored these variables and their effect on cancer incidence rates during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020). Methods: Analyses are based on cancer patients diagnosed in 22 population-based tumor registries in the SEER Program of the US National Cancer Institute. The study uses data from 2019-2020. Results: Incidence rates decreased more dramatically in those that were younger. Women saw a larger decrease in incidence rates for all cancers compared to men. Non-Hispanic Asians and Pacific Islanders saw the greatest decrease in incidence rates, followed by Non-Hispanic Blacks, Hispanics, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, and Whites. Those with more distant staged cancer types saw a smaller decrease in incidence rates. Melanoma, stomach, colon/rectum, and thyroid cancer saw the largest decrease in incidence rates in both men and women. Leukemia, soft tissue including heart, and pancreas saw the smallest decrease in incidence rates in both men and women. Cancers unique to sex such as cervical, ovarian, and prostate saw a decrease in incidence rate between 8-12%. Conclusion: Different demographics had greater decreases in cancer incidence rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting these groups were less likely to see a healthcare practitioner at this time and receive a subsequent cancer diagnosis. Those with cancer types that manifest symptomatically earlier saw a smaller decrease in incidence rate, further suggesting that COVID-19 pandemic precautionary measures led to an overall underdiagnosis of many cancers in 2020.