Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42225103›Full record

ArticleThe Lancet. Oncology2026

International disruptions to cancer diagnosis and stage at presentation during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020: an International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP) population-based study.

Eileen Morgan, Aude Bardot, Oliver Langselius, Mark J Rutherford, Hazem Abd Elkader, Damien Bennett, Aline Brennan, Oliver Bucher, John Butler, David A Cameron and 37 more

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In one paragraph

Article in The Lancet. Oncology, 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

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

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. 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

47 authors.

Eileen MorganCancer Surveillance Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO), Lyon, France. Electronic address: morgane@iarc.who.int.
Aude BardotCancer Surveillance Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO), Lyon, France.
Oliver LangseliusCancer Surveillance Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO), Lyon, France.
Mark J RutherfordCancer Surveillance Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO), Lyon, France; Division of Public Health & Epidemiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
Hazem Abd ElkaderTe Aho o Te Kahu, Cancer Control Agency, Wellington, New Zealand.
Damien BennettNorthern Ireland Cancer Registry, Queen's University Belfast, Centre for Public Health, School of Medicine, Dentistry & Biomedical Sciences, Belfast, UK.
Aline BrennanNational Cancer Registry Ireland, Cork, Ireland.
Oliver BucherDepartment of Epidemiology and Cancer Registry, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
John ButlerRoyal Marsden Hospital, London, UK; Cancer Research UK, London, UK.
David A CameronEdinburgh University Cancer Centre, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Karen CanfellCancer Elimination Collaboration, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Karen ChiamCancer Elimination Collaboration, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; The Daffodil Centre, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Anna ChiarelliOntario Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Nicola CreightonCancer Institute NSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Prithwish DeOntario Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Sue EvansVictorian Cancer Registry, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Deirdre FitzpatrickNorthern Ireland Cancer Registry, Queen's University Belfast, Centre for Public Health, School of Medicine, Dentistry & Biomedical Sciences, Belfast, UK.
Marianne G GurenDepartment of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Jack HannahPublic Health Scotland, Edinburgh, UK.
Dyfed W HuwsWelsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, Public Health Wales, Cardiff, UK.
Christopher G C A JacksonPopulation Data Science, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, UK; Faculty of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Simon Mathis KønigDanish Cancer Institute, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Eshwar KumarNB Cancer Network, Department of Health, Fredericton, NB, Canada.
Siri LarønningenCancer Registry of Norway, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Mark LawlerJohnston Cancer Research Centre, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
Qinwei LiuTe Aho o Te Kahu, Cancer Control Agency, Wellington, New Zealand.
Carol McClurePEI Cancer Registry, Health PEI, Charlottetown, PE, Canada.
Asif MehmoodNB Cancer Network, Department of Health, Fredericton, NB, Canada.
Helen MitchellNorthern Ireland Cancer Registry, Queen's University Belfast, Centre for Public Health, School of Medicine, Dentistry & Biomedical Sciences, Belfast, UK.
David S MorrisonPublic Health Scotland, Edinburgh, UK.
Deirdre MurrayNational Cancer Registry Ireland, Cork, Ireland; School of Public Health, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Todd NorwoodOntario Health, Toronto, ON, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Karen A M PhillipsPEI Cancer Registry, Health PEI, Charlottetown, PE, Canada.
David RansomDepartment of Health, Perth, WA, Australia.
Lorraine ShackCancer Advanced Analytics, Health Shared Services, Calgary, AB, Canada; Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Stephanie SmitsWelsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, Public Health Wales, Cardiff, UK.
Nathalie Saint-JacquesNova Scotia Health Cancer Care Program, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Luc Te MarveldeVictorian Cancer Registry, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
David TranSaskatchewan Cancer Registry, Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, Regina, SK Canada.
Donna TurnerDepartment of Epidemiology and Cancer Registry, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; College of Community and Global Health, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Giske UrsinCancer Registry of Norway, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Sally VernonNHS England, The Leeds Government Hub, Leeds, UK.
Meghan J WalkerOntario Health, Toronto, ON, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Ryan R WoodsPopulation Health Sciences, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Bin ZhangNB Cancer Network, Department of Health, Fredericton, NB, Canada.
Freddie BrayCancer Surveillance Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO), Lyon, France.
Isabelle SoerjomataramCancer Surveillance Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO), Lyon, France.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on cancer services globally. There is a crucial need to understand how the incidence and stage of major cancer types were affected internationally. We aimed to assess these metrics in seven countries within the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership.

methodsThis population-based study used data on 2·6 million patients diagnosed with primary cancers of the colon, rectum, lung, prostate, female breast, ovary, and melanoma of the skin, between Jan 1, 2015, and Dec 31, 2020. Data were collected from cancer registries in 18 jurisdictions from seven countries participating in the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership; Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK. The main outcomes of monthly cases and age-standardised incidence rates by site during the pandemic (April 1 to Dec 31, 2020) were compared with predictions for the same year based on pre-pandemic trends (Jan 1, 2015, to Dec 31, 2019).

findingsBetween April 1, and Dec 31, 2020, 55 713 (16%) of 347 666 expected cases were predicted to be missing, with the largest deficits seen for prostate cancer (24%), female breast cancer (18%), and melanoma (18%), and the smallest deficits seen for ovarian (4%) and lung cancer (8%). The largest difference between observed and predicted incidence rates for prostate cancer was seen in the UK (164·9 per 100 000 person-years predicted vs 101·4 per 100 000 person-years observed) and the smallest difference seen in Norway (164·1 vs 168·4). Reductions in incidence were greatest from April 1, to July 31, versus from Aug 1, to Dec 31, in 2020. The percentage deficits between observed and predicted cases were 54% (UK) and 36% (Ireland) for prostate cancer, 40% (UK) and 34% (Ireland) for breast cancer, and 40% (UK) and 35% (Canada) for melanoma.

interpretationThe pandemic's greatest impact was during the first few months of societal lockdowns in 2020 when barriers in access to health care were greatest. Further research is needed to understand whether patients with a missed diagnosis were diagnosed at a later date and if they presented at a later stage.

fundingCanadian Partnership Against Cancer; Cancer Council Victoria; Cancer Institute New South Wales; Cancer Research UK; Danish Cancer Society; National Cancer Registry Ireland; The Higher Education Authority North South Research Programme, Health Data Research UK; Te Aho o Te Kahu, Cancer Control Agency New Zealand; New Zealand Cancer Society; National Health Service England; Norwegian Cancer Society; Public Health Agency Northern Ireland, on behalf of the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry; The Scottish Government; Western Australia Department of Health; and Wales Cancer Network.

Indexed as

BenchmarkingCOVID-19NeoplasmsAdultAgedAustraliaCanadaDenmarkFemaleHumansIncidenceIrelandMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm StagingNew Zealand

Identifiers

PMID42225103
PMCPMC13226152

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.