At the onset of COVID-19, stay-at-home orders were necessary to address an acute public health problem. But the shutdowns had unintended consequences across other areas of healthcare. In particular, they interrupted annual cancer screenings like mammograms and colonoscopies, as well as diagnostic testing for chronic coughs – a possible sign of lung cancer. The impact of these delays is expected to be serious and long-lasting, as many doctors anticipate a post-pandemic spike in advanced cancer diagnoses. We must prepare for this harrowing scenario by accelerating the adoption of new, innovative technologies – like liquid biopsies and precision oncology – to help expedite noninvasive screenings and ensure the best patient treatment.
