Cancer screening strategies in the post-COVID era

Abstract

More than 4 years have passed since the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020. While the medical and cancer screening fields are gradually calming down, there is an increasing need to prepare for emerging infectious diseases and emergencies that may occur. In 2020, the number of people undergoing resident screening decreased, falling by 10-30% compared to the previous year, and has since been gradually recovering. Workplace screening has not been significantly affected. In the post-COVID era, when a pandemic occurs, appropriate decisions will be required, keeping in mind that cancer screening is not considered an unnecessary outing. It is essential that the Japanese Society of Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening, together with the government and other academic societies and organizations, work to establish a cancer screening strategy for the post-COVID era during peacetime, such as developing a sustainable implementation and collaboration environment and building a rapid information sharing and dissemination system and disseminating it to society as necessary.