Dataset Information

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Diagnosis and Surgery of Breast Cancer: A Multi-Institutional Study.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly impacted the rates of screening, case identification, and referral for cancer diagnosis. We investigated the diagnosis and surgery status of breast cancer before and after the COVID-19 pandemic at a multi-institutional level.

Methods

We collected breast cancer data from the clinical data warehouse which contained the medical records of patients from six academic institutions in South Korea. Patients were divided into two groups: February to April (period A) and May to July (period B). The data from the two groups were then compared against the same periods in 2019 and 2020. The primary objective was to investigate the differences in breast cancer stages before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results

Among 3,038 patients, there was a 9.9% reduction in the number of diagnoses in 2020. This decrease was more significant during period A than period B. The breast cancer stage was not statistically different in period A (p = 0.115), but it was in period B (p = 0.001). In the subset analysis according to age, there was a statistical difference between 2019 and 2020 in period B for patients under the age of 65 years (p = 0.002), but no difference was observed in the other groups.

Conclusion

The number of breast cancer cases declined during the pandemic, and the staging distribution has changed after the pandemic peak.

SUBMITTER: Kang YJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8724378 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Diagnosis and Surgery of Breast Cancer: A Multi-Institutional Study.

Kang Young-Joon YJ Baek Jong Min JM Kim Yong-Seok YS Jeon Ye Won YW Yoo Tae-Kyung TK Rhu Jiyoung J Shin Chang-Hyun CH Cho Shijin S Choi Hoon H Oh Se Jeong SJ

Journal of breast cancer 20211201 6

<h4>Purpose</h4>The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly impacted the rates of screening, case identification, and referral for cancer diagnosis. We investigated the diagnosis and surgery status of breast cancer before and after the COVID-19 pandemic at a multi-institutional level.<h4>Methods</h4>We collected breast cancer data from the clinical data warehouse which contained the medical records of patients from six academic institutions in South Korea. Patients were di ...[more]

PMID: 34979596

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Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and has led to drastic reductions in non-urgent medical visits. Deferral of these visits may have critical health impact, including delayed diagnosis for melanoma and other skin cancers. We examined the influence of the pandemic on skin biopsy rates in a large population-based cohort.MethodsUsing a universal health care claims dataset from Ontario, we examined skin biopsies from January 6, 2020 to September 27, 2020, and compared these to the same period for 2019. Those diagnosed with anogenital cancers, younger than 20 years, residing out-of-province and with lapses in coverage were excluded. The sensitivity and specificity of claims diagnoses compared to a validated algorithm to identify keratinocyte carcinoma (KC), or to the cancer registry for melanoma was evaluated. Factors associated with biopsy during the early pandemic were investigated with modified Poisson regression.ResultsA precipitous drop in total skin biopsies (15% of expected), biopsies for KC (18%) and melanoma (27%) was seen with the onset of COVID-19 cases (p<0.01). Claims diagnoses were of high specificity for KC (99%), and for melanoma (98%), though sensitivity was less (61%, 28% respectively). In adjusted analysis, the elderly (80+ years), females and residents of certain regions were less likely to be biopsied during the pandemic. Subsequently, there were substantial improvements in biopsy rates over 10 weeks. However, compared to 2019, a large backlog of expected cases still remained 28 weeks after lockdown (45,710 all biopsy, 9,104 KC, 595 melanoma).InterpretationA drastic reduction in skin biopsies is noted early in the COVID-19 pandemic; this disproportionately affected the elderly, females and certain geographic regions. Though biopsies subsequently increased, a large backlog of cases remained after almost half a year. This will have implications for downstream care of skin cancer. Efforts should be made to limit diagnostic delay.

Dataset Information

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Diagnosis and Surgery of Breast Cancer: A Multi-Institutional Study.

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Diagnosis and Surgery of Breast Cancer: A Multi-Institutional Study.

Similar Datasets

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