Coronavirus could lead to 18,000 more cancer deaths

Research has claimed that nearly 18,000 more people with cancer in England could die after the coronavirus crisis forced hospitals to suspend treatment and deter patients from seeking care.

Experts have suggested that an additional 6,270 people in England who have recently been diagnosed with cancer could potentially die from it within the next 12 months, because of the disruption caused by coronavirus. The additional toll taking into account all those living with cancer calculates this number as likely to be 17,915.

According to the latest available statistics, that is an increase of 20 per cent on the 89,576 deaths among cancer patients recorded annually in England.

The new research, from University College London (UCL) and Data-Can, a health data research hub for cancer diagnosis and treatment in the UK, is the first to quantify the potential impact of the NHS delaying many forms of cancer treatment, including diagnostic tests and operations, and people not wanting to risk going into hospital in case they become infected.

Macmillan Cancer Support described the findings as extremely worrying and said cancer should not become ‘the forgotten C’ during the coronavirus crisis.

The UK hospital death toll from coronavirus stands at 21,678, and more than 4,300 people have died in care homes in the past fortnight, bringing the total to more than 26,000 since the pandemic struck Britain.

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This story was first published in digitalhealth.net

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