Annual Report to the Nation Part 2: New cancer diagnoses fell abruptly early in the COVID-19 pandemic

New diagnoses of six major cancer types in the United States fell abruptly in early 2020, coinciding with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to findings from part 2 of the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. The volume of pathology reports also declined sharply in early 2020, suggesting that fewer cancer screenings and other cancer-related procedures were performed during that time. Taken together, the findings suggest that many cancers were not being diagnosed in a timely manner during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, likely due to interruptions in medical care.