Decline and incomplete recovery in cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium: a year-long, population-level analysis.

BACKGROUND: Oncological care was considerably impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Worrisome declines in diagnostic procedures and cancer diagnoses in 2020 have been reported; however, nationwide, population-based evidence is limited. Quantification of the magnitude and distribution of the remaining outstanding diagnoses is likewise lacking. METHODS: Using accelerated delivery of data from pathology laboratories to the Belgian Cancer Registry, we compared the nationwide rates of new diagnoses of invasive cancers in 2020 to 2019. RESULTS: We observed a 44% reduction in total diagnoses of invasive cancers in April 2020 compared with April 2019, coinciding with the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The reduction was largest in older patients and for skin cancers (melanoma and nonmelanoma). Reductions in diagnosis were less pronounced among children and adolescents (0-19 years). A smaller decline was observed for most cancers with typically poorer prognosis or obvious symptoms, including some hematological malignancies, lung, and pancreatic cancer. Suspension of organized population screening programs was reflected in a strong decline in diagnosis in the screening age groups for female breast cancer (56%) and for colorectal cancer in both men (49%) and women (60%). The number of diagnoses began to increase from the end of April and stabilized at the beginning of June at or just above 2019 levels. There has yet to be a complete recovery in cancer diagnoses, with an estimated 6%, or ∼4000 diagnoses, still outstanding for all of 2020. Among solid tumors, head and neck cancers have the largest remaining year-over-year decrease in diagnoses at 14%. CONCLUSION: These results add to the evidence of a profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on oncological care and identify groups at risk for continuing diagnostic delays. These data should stimulate health care providers worldwide to facilitate targeted, accessible, and efficient procedures for detection of cancers affected by this delay.

Evaluation of Soybean Cultivars for Production in Meloidogyne arenaria Race 2-Infested Soil.

Field trials with 56 soybean cultivars and breeding lines from public and private sources were conducted from 1986 through 1988 at a site infested with Meloidogyne arenaria race 2. Differences (P < 0.05) among yields were found each year and yields were negatively correlated (P < 0.01) with root-knot nematode galling. All entries were galled and the highest-yielding entries, 'Kirby' and 'Coker 6738', were determined to have average yield reductions of 56% and 62%, respectively, when compared with uninfested sites over the 3-year period.

Galling and Yields of Soybean Cultivars Grown in Meloidogyne arenana-Infested Soil.

Field trials with 39 soybean cultivars and five breeding lines from public and private sources were conducted from 1982 through 1985 at sites infested with Meloidogyne arenaria. Nematode population densities and root-knot galling were measured for each soybean entry. All were efficient hosts for the nematode, and average juvenile numbers in the soil increased 5-50 x from planting to harvest. Differences (P < 0.05) in galling were found among entries in each year. Centennial, Cobb, Coker 368, Hutton, and Jeff cultivars, recognized for their resistance to M. incognita, were severely galled and yielded poorly. Bedford, Forrest, A7372, Bragg, Braxton, Gordon, and Kirby, also recognized for their resistance to M. incognita, were among the least galled cultivars. Yields of all entries, however, were too low to justify their planting in sites heavily infested with M. arenaria.

Evaluation of Soybean Cultivars for Production in Meloidogyne incognita-infested Soil.

Significant (P < 0.05) differences among galling and yields of 41 soybean cultivars and breeding lines were found when they were produced at a site infested with Meloidogyne incognita during 3 years of investigation. Over a period of 6 years of testing, 13 cultivars were identified as having a suitably low susceptibility to warrant their production in M. incognita infested soil.