Cancer diagnostic delay in Northern and Central Italy during the 2020 lockdown due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to patients delaying or forgoing necessary health care.  Comparing the same 10-week period in 2018, 2019 and 2020, researchers used data from seven hospitals in northern-central Italy to assess the impact of COVID-19 on cancer diagnoses. Compared to prior years, cancer diagnoses overall fell by 45% in 2020. Researchers noted the largest decrease in cancer diagnoses among skin, colorectal, prostate, and bladder cancers.