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       TOKYO -- Cancer diagnoses at university hospitals and other facilities in Japan in 2020 fell 9% compared to the previous year, according to a survey by the Japan Cancer Society and other bodies.

       Temporary suspension of cancer screening amid the coronavirus spread and people's tendency to avoid visiting hospitals during the pandemic appear to have resulted in a decrease in cancer case discoveries. It is feared this could result in more late-stage cancer cases being found in the future.

       During the state of emergency between April and May 2020, local bodies successively canceled cancer tests. Meanwhile, Japan Cancer Society survey results indicated that about 30% fewer people went for checkups in 2020 than in 2019.

       The survey targeted 486 facilities across Japan, including university hospitals and cancer clinics, and 105 facilities, or 21.6%, responded. It found that in 2020, 80,660 diagnoses were made in the five cancer categories of stomach cancer, bowel cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer, down from 88,814 in 2019 -- a 9.2% drop. Based on the survey response rate, it is estimated that 40,000 fewer people in Japan were diagnosed with cancer in 2020 compared to 2019.

       Of the five categories, stomach cancer saw the greatest decline in diagnoses, falling by 13.4%, followed by bowel cancer (10.2%), breast cancer (8.2%), lung cancer (6.4%) and cervical cancer (4.8%).

       Regarding progression of diagnosed cases, a 17.4% decline in stage 1 stomach cancer diagnoses was seen from 2019 to 2020. This was greater than the 4% to 9% declines for stages 2 to 4. For bowel cancer, too, the earlier stages saw greater declines, raising the possibility that chances to detect cancer at an early stage are being missed. The earlier the stage, the fewer symptoms there are, and it is thought that the survey results reflected the effect of refraining from checkups.

       Surgery and medical treatment case numbers also declined over the period, with stomach cancer surgeries dropping by 15.7%. Yuichiro Doki, chairman of the Japan Society of Clinical Oncology, commented, "Early cancers get worse slowly, but as the stage progresses, they worsen more easily, so I'd like people to undergo medical examinations."

       (Japanese original by Yuki Nakagawa, Lifestyle and Medical News Department)

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