Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on population-based cancer registry

Scientists from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) led a new collaborative study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operation of population-based cancer registries. The study has been published in the International Journal of Cancer.

The researchers found that two thirds of all population-based cancer registries surveyed reported disruptions to their operation during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Negative impacts were reported more commonly in countries with a low Human Development Index than in countries with a high Human Development Index.

This study is key to increasing stakeholders’ awareness of population-based cancer registries as assets for disease control and increasing the commitment of stakeholders to support future registry operations.

Population-based cancer registries provide important information to inform effective national cancer control strategies and to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rates of cancer diagnosis and treatment outcomes at the population level.

Soerjomataram I, Bardot A, Aitken J, Piñeros M, Znaor A, Steliarova-Foucher E, et al.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on population-based cancer registry
Int J Cancer, Published online 3 September 2021;
https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.33792

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