TY - JOUR AU - Erdmann, Friederike AU - Wellbrock, Maike AU - De Santis, Karina Karolina AU - Hübner, Joachim AU - Voigtländer, Sven AU - Arndt, Volker TI - Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnoses, oncological care and cancer patients in Germany: a report from the 'COVID </td><td width="150"> TI - amp; Cancer' workshop 2023 of the German Society for Epidemiology (DGEpi). JO - Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology VL - 150 IS - 11 SN - 0301-1585 CY - Heidelberg PB - Springer M1 - DKFZ-2024-02396 SP - 491 PY - 2024 N1 - #LA:C071#LA:M110# AB - The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with severe disruptions in healthcare worldwide. Cancer patients are at particular risk of adverse consequences from delays in diagnosis and treatment. To evaluate the available data on the impact of the pandemic on cancer diagnoses, oncological care and patient well-being in Germany, the German Society for Epidemiology (DGEpi) in collaboration with the Epidemiological Cancer Registry of Lower Saxony invited to a workshop on 'COVID </td><td width="150"> AB - Cancer' (held on 26-27 October 2023 in Hanover, Germany). This report provides a summary of the scientific presentations, highlights methodological challenges, and recognises essential evidence gaps.Twelve studies addressing various aspects in relation to cancer diagnoses, oncological care and patient well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany and two talks sharing experiences from the UK and the Netherlands were presented at the workshop.Results from German cancer registries consistently showed lower number of incident cancer diagnoses among adults during the first months of the pandemic compared to the respective months of the years before the pandemic. Data from the cancer registries of Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony found especially for breast cancer a notable drop (by approximately one third) in the numbers of diagnoses during the first restriction period (April-May 2020), during which the nationwide mammography screening programme in Germany was temporarily suspended. Overall, the extent and ways, in which the pandemic had adversely affected cancer diagnoses, oncological care and created service backlogs, is still not adequately understood. The long-term consequences are yet to be determined. KW - Humans KW - COVID-19: epidemiology KW - Germany: epidemiology KW - Neoplasms: epidemiology KW - Neoplasms: diagnosis KW - Neoplasms: therapy KW - Registries KW - SARS-CoV-2 KW - Medical Oncology: methods KW - Pandemics KW - Female KW - Adverse consequences (Other) KW - COVID-19 pandemic (Other) KW - Cancer care (Other) KW - Delayed diagnosis (Other) KW - Germany (Other) KW - Incidence (Other) LB - PUB:(DE-HGF)16 C6 - pmid:39516427 C2 - pmc:PMC11549193 DO - DOI:10.1007/s00432-024-06019-3 UR - https://inrepo02.dkfz.de/record/294661 ER -