The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on cancer diagnosis in general and specialized practices in Germany. This study included a total of 102,009 patients aged ≥18 years newly diagnosed with cancer in 1660 practices in Germany from January to May 2019 and from January to May 2020. Practices included general, gynecology, ear, nose, and throat (ENT), dermatology, and urology practices. New cancer diagnoses included all types of cancer and corresponded to cancers not previously documented in the database for a given patient. The number of new cancer diagnoses per general practice decreased significantly between March and May 2020 compared with the same period in 2019 (March: −12.0%, April: −27.6%, and May: −23.4%). A similar trend was observed in specialized practices, and this trend was more pronounced in April 2020 (dermatology: −44.4%, gynecology: −32.0%, and ENT: −28.2%). In addition, there was a significant decrease in almost all sex and age groups in April and May 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. Finally, the decrease in the number of new cancer diagnoses was particularly pronounced among cancers of the skin and the respiratory and intrathoracic organs. Together, these data show that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative impact on cancer diagnosis in Germany, highlighting the need for public health measures improving the management of cancer in this country during this ongoing pandemic.

The incidence of breast cancer (BC) in postmenopausal women is continuously rising. Due to early diagnosis and various treatment designs, the long-term clinical outcome has improved. Frequent settings are chemotherapy as well as endocrine treatment. Both have proven to interfere with bone health resulting in cancer treatment-induced bone loss (CTIBL). Whereas chemotherapy is associated with increased bone resorption, aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy reduces residual estrogen and is associated with decreased bone mineral density. Independent of the AI administered, the loss of bone mineral density is twice as high compared to healthy postmenopausal women. As a consequence of CTIBL, both chemotherapy and AI treatment can lead to a significantly increased fracture risk. Therefore, several guidelines have emerged for the management of CTIBL in women with BC, including strategies to identify and treat those at high risk for fractures. Further research on tracking guideline adherence examining the feasibility and practicability of guideline implementation to bridge the gap between determined scientific best evidence and applied best practice is needed to adjust these guidelines in the future.