부산대학교 도서관

Background: The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected the delivery and utilization of health care services in Germany. Cancer registries reported a temporary drop in case notifications.Objectives: How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect cancer registration in Germany in 2020?Materials and methods: We summarized reports from German regional cancer registries on cancer incidence in 2020, and compared them with national data using the dataset of the German Center for Cancer Registry Data (ZfKD) at the Robert Koch Institute. Figures published by other European and North American cancer registries served as reference.Results: Reports of incident cancer cases declined notably, especially in the spring. Despite some recovery over the summer months, the number of case reports remained 6–8% below reference values by the end of the observation period. The largest reductions of 13.4 and 10.6% were documented for non-melanotic skin cancer and colon cancer, respectively. Declines in other cancer types were less pronounced. The development of incidence rates was comparable to that of absolute case numbers.Conclusions: In 2020, the age-standardized incidence rate across all cancers in Germany fell by 6.5%, which is comparable to the development seen in other western and northern European countries. Pandemic-related delays in reporting and reduced utilization of screening services may have contributed but cannot explain the full extent of the reduction.