Image from CDC's page on cancer and COVID-19
COVID-19 can make people with cancer very sick. Many cancer treatments weaken the body's ability to fight infection, and a history of cancer may raise the risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19. CDC offered guidance to people with cancer, and its scientists studied how the pandemic affected cancer deaths and screening.
COVID-19 deaths among people with cancer
A CDC study found:
- Many people with cancer died of COVID-19 and other diseases during the pandemic, with more deaths during COVID-19 peaks.
- Among people who died with cancer, COVID-19 was the underlying cause for 2.0% in 2020 and 2.4% in 2021 — higher during peaks and among people who were older, male, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, or Black, or who had leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma.
CDC infographic based on MMWR
Screening dropped sharply
Many preventive services, including cancer screening, were put on hold. CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control measured the damage:
| Study | Finding |
|---|---|
| National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program | in April 2020, breast screening fell 87% and cervical screening 84% below the previous five-year average for that month — though some states kept screening at pre-pandemic levels |
| The same program, by race and ethnicity | from January to June 2020, the biggest drops were 98% in breast screening among American Indian and Alaska Native women and 92% in cervical screening among Asian and Pacific Islander women |
| Kaiser Permanente Southern California | cervical screening fell 80% among about 1.5 million women during California's stay-at-home order |
A related study found U.S. breast cancer deaths fell from 1999 to 2020 — but more slowly in 2008–2020 than in 2002–2008 — with Black women having the highest death rates.
Protecting people with cancer
- People with Certain Medical Conditions: some people with weakened immune systems, including some cancer patients, are more likely to get sick with COVID-19 or stay sick longer.
- Preventing Infections in Cancer Patients: chemotherapy and cancer itself can damage the immune system, making infections more likely and sometimes life-threatening.
Programs that kept screening going
A mobile mammography event at Bay Mills, Michigan, September 2020. Image from CDC's page on cancer and COVID-19
- Michigan. The Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, whose Three Fires Cancer Consortium helps American Indian people get cancer prevention and early detection, held mobile mammography events in the Hannahville and Bay Mills Indian communities in September 2020. With colorectal cancer a leading cause of cancer death in the state and screening down sharply, tribal clinics used education and reminders; patients up to date on colorectal screening rose from about 62% in July 2020 to almost 67% in June 2021.
- Colorado. San Juan Basin Public Health, serving rural southwestern Colorado, worked with organizations serving the Hispanic community to connect low-income Hispanic women — who face few interpreters, scheduling help or information on financial aid — with health care, housing, food, transportation and other assistance during the pandemic.
More: Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer after the onset of the pandemic · Lung cancer incidence, 2019–2020
Sources
Based on "Cancer and COVID-19," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the CDC studies it cites; a work of the United States government in the public domain.
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.cdc.gov
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