The COVID-19 pandemic reduced delays in the care pathway for patients with glioma at a French institute

Abstract

Context

Delays in cancer management have been reported during the COVID-19 pandemic. Neuro-oncology patients represent a real challenge as their disease can progress rapidly without appropriate care. However, data available for these patients over this period is scarce.

Objective

Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on therapeutic care within a specific population at a French institute. A retrospective descriptive study was conducted using electronic medical records. All patients who underwent surgery for glioma in a neurosurgery unit between January 1st, 2019 and December 31st, 2020 were included.

Results

A total of 114 patients were operated for a glioma; 70 patients in 2019 (before the pandemic) and 44 in 2020 (during the pandemic). Among these patients, 89% were diagnosed with a high-grade glioma, including 81% with glioblastoma. The mean time between first symptoms and imaging process increased from 35 days in 2019 to 40 days in 2020. However, in the subsequent steps of the care pathway, timelines improved at each stage with a reduction up to four days. The time reduction was statistically significant for two specific stages of care: (i) the interval between the surgery and the histomolecular diagnosis, with a reduction of two days, and (ii) the period between the histomoleculardiagnosis and the consultation for results announcement, with a reduction of three days. In summary, on average, the first treatment was initiated 49 days post-surgery in 2019 and 36 days post-surgery in 2020.

Conclusion

This study showed that the COVID-19 outbreak positively impacted the therapeutic care pathway of patients with glioma at a French institute. Although the improvement can be measured in days, this acceleration of care was nonetheless crucial for the population studied.