Oncologist warns Covid disruption to diagnosis and treatment could increase cancer mortality for “next decade”

Consultant medical oncologist Professor Seamus O’Reilly says pandemic has “enormous implications” for “time-dependent” cancer care.

A leading consultant medical oncologist has warned that delays to cancer diagnosis and treatment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic could increase cancer mortality for the “next decade”.

Speaking on behalf of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) during European Week Against Cancer, Professor Seamus O’Reilly of Cork University Hospital and the Mercy University Hospital in Cork was citing recent statistics from the National Cancer Institute.