Ireland saw some of the largest falls in cancer diagnoses during COVID-19 lockdowns, but no evidence of a sustained increase in late-stage disease<\/p>\n
Ireland experienced some of the largest early reductions in cancer diagnoses during the pandemic and found no immediate increase in late-stage diagnoses in 2020, an international study found.<\/p>\n
The National Cancer Registry of Ireland (NCRI) has today welcomed the publication of new international findings from the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP), describing their results as an important international confirmation of Ireland\u2019s experience of cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
The ICBP study International disruptions to cancer diagnosis and stage at presentation during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 analysed more than 2.5 million cancer cases across seven countries.<\/p>\n
It reports substantial reductions in cancer diagnoses during 2020 due to pandemic-related disruption, particularly in the early months of lockdown. However, critically, it found no immediate increase in late-stage diagnoses in 2020, with the authors noting that any longer-term impacts require continued monitoring.<\/p>\n
These findings closely mirror those published by the NCRI in its December 2025 report, Impact of COVID-19 on cancer incidence, stage at diagnosis, mortality and 1-year survival in Ireland, which demonstrated:<\/p>\n
A sharp but temporary drop in cancer diagnoses in early 2020 (27 per cent)
\nNo consistent increase in late-stage cancers in 2020, 2021 or 2022
\nOne-year survival for patients diagnosed in 2020\u20132021 remaining in line with previous years
\nA rapid recovery in diagnostic activity by 2022 to expected levels<\/p>\n
The NCRI said that the alignment between national and international evidence is highly reassuring for patients, clinicians and policymakers.<\/p>\n
Welcoming the study, NCRI director Prof Deirdre Murray said: \u201cThis important international study provides strong, independent confirmation of what we have already observed in Ireland. While the pandemic caused a significant and immediate disruption to cancer diagnosis, there is no evidence of a sustained increase in late-stage disease during the pandemic. That is very reassuring for patients and their families.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur own data showed that Ireland\u2019s cancer services adapted quickly and effectively under unprecedented pressure. The ICBP findings reinforce that message, while also highlighting how different health systems experienced and responded to the same global shock.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ICBP study highlights that Ireland, along with the UK and Canada, experienced some of the largest early reductions in cancer diagnoses, reflecting longer and more stringent service disruptions. However, it also underscores the capacity of health systems to recover, and the importance of maintaining diagnostic pathways wherever possible.<\/p>\n
Prof Murray added: \u201cOne of the key strengths of this ICBP analysis is its international perspective. By comparing experiences across multiple countries and jurisdictions, it provides valuable insights into what worked well, where systems were vulnerable, and how quickly recovery can be achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis kind of benchmarking is essential \u2013 not only in validating national findings such as ours, but also in informing future pandemic preparedness. It helps ensure that cancer services can be protected as much as possible during future health crises.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NCRI noted that both the ICBP study and its own report emphasise the importance of continued monitoring to understand any longer-term impacts on cancer outcomes, including survival and potential delayed stage shifts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile early indications are reassuring, ongoing surveillance remains critical,\u201d Professor Murray said. \u201cHigh-quality, population-based cancer data \u2013 both nationally and internationally \u2013 will continue to play a central role in guiding policy, improving services, and safeguarding patient outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NCRI also highlighted the value of cancer registries internationally, whose data made the ICBP study possible, and reiterated the importance of maintaining robust data systems during periods of health system disruption.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ireland saw some of the largest falls in cancer diagnoses during COVID-19 lockdowns, but no evidence of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478734,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[258,160,103,61,206365,60,206366,206367,172425,158982,9301],"class_list":["post-478733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-cancer","tag-covid-19","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-international-cancer-benchmarking-partnership","tag-ireland","tag-late-diagnosis","tag-late-stage-cancer","tag-lockdowns","tag-national-cancer-registry-ireland-ncri","tag-pandemic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}