Abstract:

Objective: Cancer-related deaths in all countries of the world, including our country, are the second leading cause of deaths after cardiovascular diseases. Covid-19 is a pandemic disease affecting many organs but primarily the lung. The aim of this study is to compare the cancer incidences in the pre-Covid-19 period and during Covid-19 pandemic period in Sivas province by means of age, gender and cancer type distribution of the patients. Methods: The population of the study consists of the patients who applied to health institutions in Sivas between 01.11.2018 and 30.06.2021 and were diagnosed as cancer for the first time. The main variable of the study was cancer incidence. The time variable was the 16-monthtime period comprising before Covid-19 pandemic and during the pandemic period separately. In addition, patients diagnosed with cancer in both periods wasevaluated and compared according to age groups, gender and the type of cancer. Results: In this study, the pre-pandemic period and the pandemic period were compared. It was determined that 1355 patients were diagnosed as cancer during the pre-pandemic period and 1720 patients during the pandemic period. The incidence, which was 212.1 per hundred thousand in the previous period, increased to 270.5 per hundred thousand during the 16-month pandemic period. Conclusion: The incidence of cancer increased during the pandemic period compared to the pre-pandemic period.  

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