Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022:44:e2022053.
doi: 10.4178/epih.e2022053. Epub 2022 Jun 21.

The impact of COVID-19 on screening for colorectal, gastric, breast, and cervical cancer in Korea

Hyeree Park  1   2   3 , Seung Hee Seo  2   3   4 , Jong Heon Park  5 , Shin Hye Yoo  6 , Bhumsuk Keam  2   7 , Aesun Shin  1   2   3   4
Affiliations

The impact of COVID-19 on screening for colorectal, gastric, breast, and cervical cancer in Korea

Hyeree Park et al. Epidemiol Health. 2022.

Abstract

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the utilization of healthcare services, including participation in cancer screening programs. We compared cancer screening participation rates for colorectal, gastric, breast, and cervical cancers among participants in the National Cancer Screening Program (NCSP) in 2019 and 2020 to address the potential distraction effect of COVID-19 on cancer screening.

Methods: Data from the NCSP for 4 cancer types (stomach, colorectal, breast, and cervical) in 2019 and 2020 were used to calculate cancer screening participation rates by calendar month, gender, age group, and geographical region. Monthly participation rates were analyzed per 1,000 eligible individuals.

Results: The screening participation rate decreased in 2020 compared to 2019 for all 4 cancers: colorectal (40.5 vs. 35.3%), gastric (61.9 vs. 54.6%), breast (63.8 vs. 55.8%), and cervical (57.8 vs. 52.2%) cancers. Following 2 major COVID-19 waves in March and December 2020, the participation rates in the 4 types of cancer screening dropped compared with those in 2019. The highest decline was observed in the elderly population aged 80 years and older (percentage change: -21% for colorectal cancer; -20% for gastric cancer; -26% for breast cancer; -20% for cervical cancer).

Conclusions: After the 2 major COVID-19 waves, the screening participation rate for 4 types of cancer declined compared with 2019. Further studies are needed to identify the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer patients, such as delayed diagnoses of cancer or excess cancer deaths.

Keywords: Breast neoplasms; COVID-19; Colorectal neoplasms; Gastric neoplasms; Mass screening; Uterine cervical neoplasms.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare for this study.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Monthly cancer screening participation rates and differences in monthly participants per 1,000 persons in 2020 compared with 2019. (A) Colorectal cancer, (B) gastric cancer, (C) breast cancer, (D) cervical cancer.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Changes in social distancing regulations from February to December 2020.
None
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cucinotta D, Vanelli M. WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic. Acta Biomed. 2020;91:157–160. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Adil MT, Rahman R, Whitelaw D, Jain V, Al-Taan O, Rashid F, et al. SARS-CoV-2 and the pandemic of COVID-19. Postgrad Med J. 2021;97:110–116. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kang J, Jang YY, Kim J, Han SH, Lee KR, Kim M, et al. South Korea’s responses to stop the COVID-19 pandemic. Am J Infect Control. 2020;48:1080–1086. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kim EA. Social distancing and public health guidelines at workplaces in Korea: responses to coronavirus disease-19. Saf Health Work. 2020;11:275–283. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lee Y, Han JO, Lee H, Lim S. The development and operation of a home management system during the COVID-19 pandemic: experience of the local government Gyeonggi-do in Korea. J Korean Med Sci. 2021;36:e134. - PMC - PubMed