Report shows reduction in cancer diagnoses during Covid pandemic

Michael Bolton

A report has shown that the number of people expected to be diagnosed with cancer in 2021 dropped by 4 per cent.

The report by the National Cancer Registry Ireland (NCRI) showed a drop in cancer incidence of 7 per cent in male and 1 per cent in females.

For 2022, with registration still ongoing, the shortfall on projected cases was estimated to be 9 per cent.

Between 2019 and 2021, 41,767 cancers or tumours were diagnosed each year. Just over one in two cases were life-changing invasive cancers that required extensive treatment.

Prostate and female breast cancer were the most commonly diagnosed cancers overall.

Colourectal, lung, melanoma of the skin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma were the most common cancers among men, while lung, Colourecta, melanoma of the skin and corpus uteri were the most common cancers among women.

In 2021, 28 per cent of total deaths were due to cancer, amounting to 9,621 people.

The most common cancer from which both men and women died last year was lung cancer.

The report also noted a 50 per cent increase in the number of cancer survivors compared to a decade ago.

The research found older people experience a higher cancer incidence and lower survival compared to other age groups, with a five-year net survival ranging from 46 per cent in those aged 75 and over, compared to 86 per cent in the 15-44 cohort.

By the end of 2021, there were 215,000 current or former cancer patients patients alive in the State, representing 4.3 per cent of the population.

The most common cancers among survivors were breast cancer (23 per cent), prostate cancer (22 per cent) and bowel cancer (11 per cent).