Survival rates for cancer diagnosis lower in 2020 than previous years

Survival rates for those diagnosed with cancer in 2020 were lower than those diagnosed in the previous two years, figures show.

Public Health Scotland’s (PHS) report showed that for all cancers, one-year survival rates were 67.5% in 2020 compared to 71.1% in 2018 and 2019.

The early stage of the coronavirus pandemic led to a substantial under-diagnosis of cancers in 2020, with the reduction thought to be 8%.

The one-year survival rate difference was said to be significant for colorectal cancer and prostate cancer.

It was unchanged for breast cancer.

PHS said the difference reflected both the under-diagnosis of cancers and delays to treatment.

The report said: “As a consequence of the first lockdown in 2020, referrals resulting in a cancer diagnosis fell substantially, with patients not being screened, patients being less likely to seek help or more likely to experience delays in investigations.

“Previous PHS reports have shown that the pandemic led to substantial under-diagnosis of cancers in 2020, with an 8% reduction in diagnoses for all cancers, and larger falls for early stage diagnoses in some cancer types.”

It added: “Although it is unclear whether patients diagnosed in 2020 had poorer survival than they would have done had the pandemic not occurred, these statistics underscore the substantial impact of the pandemic on cancer services in Scotland.”