The Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM) said Thursday that around 3.6 million people are alive in Italy today having been diagnosed with some form of tumour, an increase of 37% on the number of cancer survivors the nation had 10 years ago.

But the association also raised the alarm about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fight against cancer. It said more than two million fewer screening tests were done in Italy in the first nine months of 2020. "Delays in early diagnosis can cause an increase in mortality rates," said AIOM President Giordano Beretta.