Wednesday, 7th June: Today’s report published by the National Cancer Registry of Ireland (NCRI) and funded by the Irish Cancer Society, shows there was a drop in the number of cancers diagnosed during the first two years of the pandemic. The report includes figures for 2021 for the first time.

The drop in cancers may have been caused by patients putting off seeking medical advice, disruptions to the health service or possibly death from Covid, says the Irish Cancer Society.  Liver, pancreatic and kidney cancers appear to have been most significantly impacted by the disruptions that occurred due to COVID-19.

Rachel Morrogh, Director of Advocacy at the Irish Cancer Society responded to the publication of the report by saying:

"The Irish Cancer Society is dismayed that our fears of there being a second year of fewer cancers being diagnosed have been confirmed. Cancer never went away during the pandemic but remained undetected due to a range of reasons including disruption to health services, people putting off seeking medical advice, and possibly premature death from Covid.

“The combined number of missed cancers from 2020 and 2021 tell us that 1 in 12 expected cancers were not detected over the first 2 years of the pandemic. We don’t yet have the full picture of whether these cancers were diagnosed at a more advanced stage, but what we do know is that the later the stage of diagnosis, the more complex, more costly, and more invasive cancer is to treat.

“Crucially, later diagnosis can impact a person’s chance of survival and their quality of life, so we are viewing the figures in the context that each number represents a family who tragically, may have less time with a loved one.

“The figures published today underline the need to significantly reduce waiting times for cancer tests, while expanding capacity across public cancer services so that when people are symptomatic, there is no delay to getting diagnosed and treated for cancer. Alongside these measures, the public needs to be reassured that health services are available if they need them and not to delay seeking medical advice for anything that is unusual, unexplained, or persistent.

“We have been so concerned about the drop in cancer diagnoses that we’ve been tracking the public’s engagement with the health services since 2020. Our most recent omnibus survey from May, found that 1 in 5 people have not attended a GP or hospital appointment in the last 3 months, even though they say they have needed to. Roughly one-third have put off these appointments due to either the pressures in the health service or because they could not afford it.  Four in 10 adults in Ireland are not confident that they can access the health services they need at the current time. One in 5 are currently waiting for a health test, with 65% of these waiting longer than 4 months.

“Given the public’s engagement with health services continues to be below the levels we would like to see and until we see data that shows the number of cancers diagnosed have returned to expected levels, the Irish Cancer Society will continue to call for urgent and accelerated measures from Government that get people diagnosed in the first instance and secondly, that ensure swift access to cancer treatment. We fully recognise that this is also the shared objective of the Minister for Health and the National Cancer Control Programme and we are thankful for their continued efforts to address the immediate issues while planning for the future.

"Last week, the Irish Cancer Society published a pre Budget Submission that sets out our vision for a resilient, fully staffed and future-proofed cancer system that can ensure the public access to tests and care when they need it. Given the figures published today, cancer services need the Government’s focus and investment more than ever before.”

The full NCRI annual report for 2021 can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.ncri.ie/sites/ncri/files/pubs/NCRI_COVIDImpactIncidence2021_Report2023.pdf