
Scientific American: Oncologists wrestle with COVID-19 pandemic's effect on cancer
UC expert details how pause in lung cancer screening affected patient outcomes
As we near the two-year mark of when the COVID-19 pandemic caused shutdowns and canceled many elective procedures, oncologists across the country continue to examine how this pause in cancer screenings is affecting patients.
Robert Van Haren, MD, said after the lung cancer screening program at UC was closed for about three months in early 2020, doctors found many more suspicious nodules on the lungs compared to usual once screening resumed.
"Even small changes in the size of a lung cancer can be important for overall survival,” Van Haren, assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Thoracic Surgery in UC’s College of Medicine, a UC Health thoracic surgeon and University of Cincinnati Cancer Center member, told Scientific American. “That’s the reason we’re concerned about any delays or stoppages.”
Read the Scientific American article.
Featured photo of Robert Van Haren, MD. Photo/Colleen Kelley/University of Cincinnati.
Related Stories
UC scientists use advanced microscopy to reveal key protein...
June 13, 2025
Research from University of Cincinnati structural biologists has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They used cryogenic electron microscopy to see two key protein structures in the body for the first time.
UC hosts successful annual Ohio higher education computing...
June 13, 2025
The University of Cincinnati recently had the honor of hosting the Ohio Higher Education Computing Council (OHECC).
This provision could ban AI regulation for 10 years
June 12, 2025
The proposed “big beautiful bill” has a provision that would ban states from enforcing regulation on artificial intelligence models and systems for 10 years. The legal implications of the bill’s moratorium on AI regulation are a source of confusion across the political spectrum. Cincinnati Edition on WVXU recently spoke with director of UC’s Applied AI Lab Jeffrey Shaffer for insight on what the provision could mean at the crossroads of innovation and safety.