Decreased numbers of gastric, colorectal, lung, and breast cancer surgeries performed in 17 cancer-designated hospitals in Gunma Prefecture of Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic

PURPOSE: This study aims to clarify the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer surgery in Gunma Prefecture. METHODS: A total of 9839 cases (1406 gastric cancer, 3569 colorectal cancer, 1614 lung cancer, and 3250 breast cancer) from 17 hospitals in Gunma Prefecture were investigated. We compared the number of surgical cases, proportion of cases found by screening, and cStage at the time of the first visit by month in 2020 and 2021 with those in 2019. RESULTS: The rate of decline in cancer surgery was 8.9% in 2020 compared with 2019 (p = 0.0052). Compared with the same month of 2019, in some months of 2020 and 2021, significant decreases were observed in the number of surgeries for gastric and colorectal cancer, the percentage of surgical cases detected by screening in all four cancers, and the proportion of cancers with a relatively early cStage in gastric and breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The number of surgical cases of the four cancer types detected by cancer screening decreased in Gunma Prefecture owing to the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, for some cancer types, the number of operations performed in patients with early-stage cancer is also decreased.