‘No evidence of lasting impact on early cancer survival or mortality due to early diagnostic delays in 2020,’ says new NCRI Report.

• No consistent rise in late-stage cancers was observed following the pandemic.
• Survival rates for all cancer sites in 2020–2021 remained in line with previous years.
• Cancer diagnoses did drop sharply (27%) in early 2020 as Covid-19 disrupted health services e.g., GP visits, hospital appointments, screening services.
• The system reconfigured quickly during the pandemic and recovered quickly after; by 2022 the number of diagnosed cases had returned to expected levels.

10th December 2025: While Covid-19 severely disrupted cancer detection during 2020, Ireland’s cancer outcomes remained stable overall and there is no clear evidence to date of lasting harm to early survival or mortality. This is the key finding of a report published today by the National Cancer Registry of Ireland, NCRI. The Report, ‘Impact of COVID-19 on cancer incidence, stage at diagnosis, mortality and 1-year survival in Ireland,’ shows that cancer services were protected despite the pandemic.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Professor Deirdre Murray, Director of the NCRI said that the results were very positive, and reassuring for patients and their families.

              “The early months of the pandemic were a very uncertain time for patients and healthcare providers. Some may have feared for example that the pause in screening programmes, and the fact that all GP appointments were now phone calls rather than face-to-face visits, would lead to a sharp rise in late-stage diagnoses (cancers that had progressed) post-pandemic. There is, however, no evidence of this in the data. Ireland’s cancer services adapted effectively under unprecedented pressure. The necessary compromises made during the pandemic to sustain the healthcare system continued to safeguard cancer patients.”

In spring 2020, the number of new cancer diagnoses dropped by 27% compared to previous years, the result of reductions in GP visits and the pause in screening programmes. Most of the reduction was in the four most common sites, breast, colorectal, prostate, and lung. By 2021 and 2022, the number of diagnosed cases had largely returned to expected levels with no sustained shift toward more advanced disease. Cancer deaths during 2020–2022 increased slightly, but this was in line with expected demographic trends, not pandemic-specific effects. 

              “The data in this important report give reassurance to patients and their families,” Professor Murray said. “The worry was that because of the initial drop in detection, people would present later with more advanced disease. This did not happen. Our data in the NCRI is quality-assured and is the definitive and authoritative metric for cancer control in Ireland. The data show that while the initial shock of the pandemic affected how and when cancers were diagnosed, the health services reconfigured at pace, and recovered at pace, and there is no evidence to date of lasting harm to survival or mortality."

Ongoing monitoring will be essential to understand any delayed impacts, but early signs are positive. While longer-term effects cannot be entirely ruled out, the report says, current evidence suggests that cancer patients were safeguarded despite the unprecedented pressure of the global pandemic.

              “We will continue to monitor and report on all data, but we are not expecting a long-term impact,’ Professor Murray concluded. “We gather data from all hospitals and cancer care services across the country. Our data and scientific analysis are crucial to improving cancer care and cancer outcomes in Ireland. By gathering and analysing high-quality national data, we help ensure that Ireland’s cancer services are prepared not only for today’s challenges, but for those that lie ahead.”