The National Cancer Institute created a model examining breast and colorectal cancer-related mortality in light of COVID-19-related screening delays, STAT reports.
What you should know:
1. The National Cancer Institute's model predicted in June that pandemic-related delays in diagnosing and treating tumors will lead to more than 10,000 deaths in the U.S. over the next 10 years.
2. If the model is accurate, it would be about a 1 percent increase in expected deaths during that time.
3. NCI Director Ned Sharpless, MD, said the model is "very conservative and likely to grow if we continue to postpone screening treatments and other cancer care."