ArticlePloS one2024
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lung cancer diagnosis in northern Poland-addressing the COVID-19 debt.
Article in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Lung Cancer Screening and Diagnosis: A Systematic Review.Cancers · 2026Review
- Beyond the Scan: Adapting Multimodal Lung Cancer Screening for Central and Eastern Europe-Overcoming Systemic Barriers and Epidemiological Confounders.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Cancer incidence trends in Baden-Württemberg (Southwest Germany) during and after the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2023).Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionLung cancer, one of the leading causes of death due to neoplasms, requires prompt diagnosis and immediate treatment. The COVID-19 pandemic affected healthcare systems worldwide, having adverse effects on all aspects, particularly on the fate of patients with suspected neoplastic diseases. Limited access to healthcare, disruptions in regular operations (reassigning roles to some wards), postponed hospital admissions, prolonged diagnostic processes, and other factors have collectively led to the phenomenon known as COVID-19 debt. MATERIAL AND
methodsA retrospective analysis covered statistical data concerning the diagnosis of lung cancer obtained from three centres in northern Poland (Olsztyn, Bydgoszcz, Gdansk) and concerning years 2016 to 2022. Relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for cancer event were calculated. Before the pandemic, these centers prioritized the diagnosis of suspected lung cancer cases, which was subsequently disrupted during the pandemic due to various factors.
resultsThe COVID-19 pandemic led to a decrease in diagnosed lung cancer cases, especially in hospitals repurposed for COVID-19 care. A statistically significant trend in lung cancer incidence per 100,000 inhabitants was observed specifically in healthcare centers that maintained normal operations without disruption.
conclusionThe concept of the COVID debt helps explain changes in lung cancer diagnosis during and post-pandemic, highlighting the need for increased public awareness and intensified diagnostic efforts to facilitate earlier disease detection.
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