ABSTRACT

Recent studies have assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related control measures on the number of new cancer diagnoses. The aim of this work was to evaluate the impact of the lockdown on new cancer diagnoses.
To compare the incidence of tumors in 2020 with that in 2019, we used the data from the pathology anatomy reports available until the 31st of August 2020 and collected by the Reggio Emilia Cancer Registry. Over 90% of all incident cancer cases have microscopic confirmation. We reported the variations (number of cases and % values) of all tumors and of the main sites by sex, age and period.
From the 1st of January to the 31st August 2020, we recorded 3, 548 new cancer diagnoses, 14% fewer than in the corresponding months of 2019. For all cancers, the pre-lockdown period (January-February) had a similar number compared to the same months in 2019; the lockdown period (March-May) showed a decrease (- 35%), but the post-lockdown (June-August) period showed similar numbers to those observed in 2019 (- 2%). The difference is more evident in males and in the elderly. Breast cancer shows an increase in the first months (24%),
a decrease during the lockdown (- 35%), but a rapid recovery of the diagnosis after the lockdown (11%). Lung cancer showed a decrease in incidence in all three periods (- 18%, – 22%, and 21%, respectively). Colorectal cancers shows similar value during the first two months (- 4%), a large decrease during lockdown (- 53%), but an immediate return to normality after lockdown (- 4%). Prostate cancer declined sharply during lockdown (- 32%), as well as haematological cancers (- 49%).
We observed a sharp decrease in cancers diagnosed during lockdown compared to the same period in 2019 particularly evident for the two cancers of organized screening programs (breast and colorectal cancer) and in the older people.