March 30, 2026: Bucking National Trends, NJHA Study Shows N.J. Cancer Mortality Declined 18.8% During Pandemic

U.S. patients diagnosed with cancer in the first two years of the pandemic had lower probability of survival - but New Jersey cancer trends show that cancer mortality rates actually improved during the pandemic years.

The data analysis by the New Jersey Hospital Association identified that cancer mortality declined 18.8% between 2016 and 2024 in New Jersey. This period spans the federal COVID-19 public health emergency, declared in January 2020 and lifted in May 2023.

"New Jersey's healthcare system maintained continuity of care for patients battling cancer - even in the midst of a deadly pandemic that demanded a systemwide response," said NJHA President and CEO Cathy Bennett. "That's testament to the planning, resilience and incredible focus of New Jersey's hospitals and clinical teams.

"The decline in New Jersey's cancer mortality in the pandemic years is the equivalent of 2,595 lives saved," added Bennett.

New Jersey's results differ from the national experience, as reported in a February 2026 study published in JAMA Oncology. Comparing cancer deaths from 2015-2019 before the pandemic with outcomes among people diagnosed with cancer during COVID's peak years of 2020-2021, researchers found 13.1% more deaths within one year of diagnosis than expected - equivalent to an excess of 17,390 deaths among those diagnosed in 2020-2021.

For its analysis, NJHA's Center for Health Analytics, Research and Transformation (CHART) reviewed data from the New Jersey Behavioral Risk Factor Survey (NJBRFS), the New Jersey Hospital Discharge Data Collection System (NJDDCS) and death records to assess cancer prevalence, hospitalizations and age-adjusted cancer mortality from 2016 to 2024:

• Cancer prevalence data provides a population-level snapshot of cancer diagnoses in the state. While cancer prevalence dipped in the first year of the pandemic - possibly due to disruptions in screening and testing that delayed diagnoses - overall cancer prevalence increased from 54 per 1,000 population in 2016 to 64 in 2024, an increase of 18.5%.
• Cancer hospitalizations increased by 67% between 2016 and 2024. The data shows a rise from 2020 onward driven primarily by growth in same-day medical/same-day surgery care, reflecting a broader national shift toward outpatient and ambulatory cancer care. Inpatient cancer cases remained stable throughout the study period.
• Among the 18.8% overall decline in age-adjusted cancer death rates, males consistently experienced higher cancer mortality than females, but both groups showed a downward trend over the study period. A declining age-adjusted mortality rate indicates improved cancer treatment outcomes.

Additional details can be found in NJHA's data brief, Cancer Trends Post-Pandemic: Charting Impacts in New Jersey, at https://www.njha.com/CHART.