Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41563602›Full record

ArticleCancer causes & control : CCC2026

Monitoring cancer survival in Belgium: early insights 3 years after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tim Tambuyzer, Bart Van Gool, Liesbet Van Eycken, Harlinde De Schutter

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Article in Cancer causes & control : CCC, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. SARS-CoV-2 and reproductive system: a scientometric study.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Tim TambuyzerBelgian Cancer Registry, Brussels, Belgium. tim.tambuyzer@kankerregister.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4230-8989
Bart Van GoolBelgian Cancer Registry, Brussels, Belgium.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-8604-8097
Liesbet Van EyckenBelgian Cancer Registry, Brussels, Belgium.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4788-968X
Harlinde De SchutterBelgian Cancer Registry, Brussels, Belgium.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2031-984X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeIn 2020, health care systems worldwide were challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, disrupting the medical care trajectory of cancer patients. The observed diagnostic delays requested further monitoring including an assessment of survival probabilities.

methodsThe 1-, 2- and 3-years relative survival (RS; Ederer II; follow-up until 1st May 2025) was calculated for invasive tumours diagnosed between 2017 and 2021 in Belgium (overall and per cancer type) and compared with asymptotic two-sided Z-tests on the log-transformed scale.

resultsFollowing a decrease of the 1- and 2-years RS for 2020 (82.0% and 75.5%) compared to 2019 (82.5% and 76.1%), the 3-years RS for 2020 (72.0%) aligned again with the 3-years RS for 2019 (72.2%). The 2021 (1-, 2- and 3-years) RS and 2022 (1- and 2-years) RS estimates are in line with the increasing pre-pandemic survival rates for all cancers. The RS results showed a wide heterogeneity across cancer types. In addition, we observed small shifts in the characteristics of the cancer patient populations with contrasting impact on survival.

conclusionSince the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of timeliness in the monitoring of cancer incidence and survival emerged for many cancer registries worldwide. Based on our RS results, we advocate for tailored survival analyses per subpopulation (age group, cancer type, stage, etc.) to reveal mid- and long-term survival effects of the pandemic.

Indexed as

COVID-19NeoplasmsAdultAgedBelgiumFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPandemicsSARS-CoV-2Survival Rate3-Year relative survivalCOVID-19Population-based cancer registrationTimely monitoring

Identifiers

PMID41563602

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.