Spatiotemporal Associations Between the COVID-19 Pandemic and Cancer Diagnoses in Bavaria

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a significant strain on healthcare systems worldwide and has also impacted the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In Germany, there was a notable decline in cancer diagnoses during the pandemic, partly due to delays in early detection and limited access to medical treatments. This study examines how the number of cancer cases in Bavaria changed before and during the pandemic, taking various factors into account, such as the socioeconomic status of different regions, the age of affected individuals, and the severity of the pandemic in each region. We aim to determine whether certain regions or specific types of tumors experienced greater declines in diagnoses, particularly for cancers with regular screening programs. The study seeks to provide a better understanding of how different social and geographical conditions influenced cancer diagnoses during the pandemic. These insights could help improve future preparedness for health crises like the pandemic and ensure that cancer treatment continues to function effectively even in times of crisis.

Sex

All

Minimum age

18 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

* All incident cancer cases among individuals aged 18 years and older, including carcinoma in situ, diagnosed between 2018 and 2023 within Bavaria and recorded in the Bavarian Cancer Registry.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Death Certificate Only (DCO) cases. as they lack essential clinical information and the recorded date of diagnosis is in most cases the date of death, leading to temporal distortions in incidence estimates.