The authors studied thyroid cancer because it is often detected incidentally, during a screening for something else. Between March and May of 2020, cancer registries recorded far fewer cases than expected. While the rate of new cancer diagnoses hovered around predicted levels in the second half of 2020, it did not make up for the drop seen between March and May.

Observed/Expected Ratio of Thyroid cancer diagnoses by Month of Diagnosis, 2020. Between March and May of 2020, cancer registries recorded far fewer cases than expected. While the rate of new cancer diagnoses hovered around predicted levels in the second half of 2020, it did not make up for the drop seen between March and May.