Health chiefs fear 2,000 cancer diagnoses have been missed due to the pandemic

Public health chiefs fear that as many as 2,000 cancer diagnoses have been missed this year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Figures to date show that around 90% of cases have been diagnosed this year compared to 2019.

Professor Risteard O Laoide, national director of the National Cancer Control Program (NCCP), said the problem is “a major concern” and its impact may not be known for years.

The 2,000 lost case figure is based on an analysis of a subset of data from breast, lung and prostate cancers detected through its quick access clinics.

The clinic typically finds 21% of cancer cases in Ireland each year.

Professor O Laoide said: “The figures to date show that we have diagnosed about 90% of cancers compared to last year.

“This is for these three cancers: breast, lung and prostate, which have been referred through these clinics in this way.

“So, in fact, for the breasts it is 100% of last year’s figure, for the lungs it is 96% and for the prostate it is 65%.

“The numbers could increase as the year progresses. But if you look at our numbers, there are 371 cases, if you will, of missed cancers that we have not diagnosed this year compared to last year, in this subset of patients.”

He added: “This is difficult to extrapolate to the larger number of cancer patients in Ireland.

“Potentially, it could be as many as 2,000 cases of undetected cancer, which will presumably show up, we hope, later in the year as we see more patients.

“We know that there are 25,000 cancers diagnosed a year in Ireland, in the diagnosis of non-melanoma skin cancer. So we know that there is a gap there.”

He added: “By the law of averages, we should have that number of cancer cases, and we haven’t had it. So they’re there somewhere.

“We want anyone with a suspicion or concern about cancer to come forward and be treated.”

Professor O Laoide said that the number of people showing up for cancer screening services decreased during the first shutdown during March and April, but has increased dramatically since then.

“What happened is that we have caught up, if you want, over the summer,” he added.

“More and more patients are being referred, so we hope to catch up with the diagnosis of these patients, but it is a significant concern.”

Professor O Laoide said the impact of the missing cases will not be known for several years.

He said: “We don’t know for sure what the impact of this is, because we won’t really know until we get the numbers from the cancer registry in a couple of years because that will tell us the number of cancers diagnosed.” and the stage at which the cancers were diagnosed. “

He added: “We won’t really know for a couple of years if you can have any consistency and detailed figures in the cancer registry.”

He said there were a number of caveats related to the numbers, because the process for referrals to cancer screening services may have changed during the shutdown.

For the low number of discovered prostate cases, at 65%, he said there is typically a delay in these diagnoses and the number may increase as the year progresses.

He also said delays in diagnosing prostate cancer would have less of an impact than something like lung cancer, which develops more quickly.

Research by the HSE suggests that a similar impact is being seen on services in Northern Ireland and the UK.

Professor O Laoide said: “We are currently analyzing our cancer data and comparing it with other jurisdictions, particularly Northern Ireland.

“And we have had Professor Mark Lawlor from Queen’s University in Belfast and our initial results suggest that there is a similar impact on cancer services in Northern Ireland and the UK as we have had here.”