Diana Simão, Mariana Sardinha, Ana Filipa Reis, Ana Sofia Spencer, Ricardo Luz, Sónia Oliveira
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引用次数: 5
Abstract
Introduction: One year ago, Portugal entered its first lockdown because of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The impact of this on delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment is a major concern, which may negatively affect the outcomes of these patients.
Materials and methods: This retrospective, single-center analysis compared the clinical and pathological characteristics of breast cancer (BC) patients referred to a medical oncology first appointment between March 2020 and 2021, with the same period in the previous year.
Results: Strikingly, there was a 40% reduction in the number of BC patients during lockdown. However, there was a statistically significant increase in the proportion of metastatic BC patients admitted for the first time for systemic therapy (13.6% vs. 28.9%, p = 0.003). Additionally, a statistically significant increase in the number of patients with bilateral early BC at diagnosis after March 2020 was found (7.2% vs. 1.9%, p = 0.043).
Conclusion: These findings support international recommendations for an accelerated restoration of BC screening, to reduce incidence of advanced breast cancer at diagnosis and mitigate the expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with cancer. Further work is needed to examine in detail the impact of measures to manage the COVID-19 pandemic on breast cancer outcomes.
导读:一年前,由于冠状病毒病-2019 (COVID-19)大流行,葡萄牙首次进入封锁状态。这对癌症诊断和治疗延误的影响是一个主要问题,这可能对这些患者的预后产生负面影响。材料和方法:这项回顾性的单中心分析比较了2020年3月至2021年3月期间首次就诊的乳腺癌(BC)患者的临床和病理特征,并与上一年同期进行了比较。结果:引人注目的是,在封锁期间,BC患者数量减少了40%。然而,首次接受全身治疗的转移性BC患者的比例有统计学意义的增加(13.6%比28.9%,p = 0.003)。此外,2020年3月后诊断时双侧早期BC的患者数量有统计学意义的增加(7.2% vs 1.9%, p = 0.043)。结论:这些发现支持加速恢复BC筛查的国际建议,以降低诊断时晚期乳腺癌的发病率,并减轻COVID-19大流行对癌症患者的预期影响。需要进一步开展工作,详细审查管理COVID-19大流行的措施对乳腺癌预后的影响。