Has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the diagnosis of breast cancer?

Resumo

Introduction: With the situation created by COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals assumed protocols that could lead to a delay in the oncological process, adding to this, the fear of patients to go to medical consultations due to certain discomforts.Methods: Retrospective, observational and analytical study carried out in patients diagnosed with breast cancer.Two cohorts were determined according to the pandemic period, one prior to the rise of COVID-19, between January 2019 and February 2020, and another exposed to the emergency situation, between March 2020 and December 2021.The main objective was to determine the tumor stage during the pandemic to verify that it was higher than before.Results: The study sample contained 193 cases, with a mean age of 65.5 years. In the unexposed cohort there were 71 cases (36.6%) and in the exposed cohort 122 cases (63.4%). Among them, 46.1% had an advanced stage of the disease. 53 cases were diadnosed from the population screening, of which 35 were early stage.No statistically significant relationship was found between the period exposed to the pandemic and advanced tumor stage.Conclusions: The measures implemented during COVID-19 have not led to a later diagnosis of the disease in our hospital.(c) 2023 SESPM. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.