On September 20, 2023, Dr. Ayse Arik and Prof. George Streftaris, from Heriot-Watt University in the UK, came to SCOR’s Paris headquarters to hold an in-person workshop focusing on the impact of Covid-19 on cancer. Through their respective presentations – “Estimating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on breast cancer: an application to life insurance”, and “Uneven outcomes: findings on cancer mortality” – they demonstrated that the pandemic has had no known effect on the onset of cancer. However, there have been serious health disruptions resulting from imposed public health measures. Thus, cancer pathways have been impacted due to changes in health practices and in health-seeking behavior. The project researchers mainly focused on the impacts of initial health disruptions on breast cancer deaths, where these disruptions have caused delays in cancer diagnoses. They estimated a medium-sized impact on breast cancer deaths, with a three to six percent increase in age-specific breast cancer mortality for women of 65 and over.

Watch Ayse Arik and George Streftaris discuss their research in the interview below.