The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer at a Community Hospital.

IF 2.9 3区医学 Q2 ONCOLOGY

Clinical breast cancer Pub Date : 2025-02-14 DOI:10.1016/j.clbc.2025.02.005

Mariah Mack, Matthew McGee, Barbara Bennie, Andrea Arenz, Leah Dietrich

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted breast cancer care, potentially affecting diagnosis stage, time to treatment initiation, and treatment modalities. This study evaluated how pandemic-related restrictions affected these factors at a community hospital.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of electronic health records for 941 patients diagnosed with breast cancer. Patients were categorized by diagnosis time. We used Kruskal-Wallis tests to compare median time to first treatment by modality, COX proportional hazard models to analyze time to treatment in relation to diagnosis time period and clinical stage, and Chi-square tests to evaluate changes in modality of first treatment and cancer stage.

Results: Clinical stage at diagnosis varied significantly across time periods (P = .01), with more advanced stages during Peak-COVID and Post-Peak-COVID. Median time to first treatment increased during Peak-COVID (47 days) and Post-Peak-COVID (54 days) compared to Pre-COVID (38 days) (P < .001). Time to surgery as first treatment modality increased over the 3 periods (P < .001), while no significant differences were found for chemotherapy (P = .06) or hormone therapy (P = .28). The modality of first treatment shifted significantly (P < .001), with a decline in hormone therapy use during Peak-COVID, followed by an increase Post-Peak-COVID.

Conclusions: Our study highlights the pandemic's impact on breast cancer care, demonstrating significant differences in clinical stage at diagnosis, time to first treatment, and modality of first treatment. These disparities persisted into 2022, reflecting lasting effects of pandemic-related disruptions. Addressing these delays is essential for mitigating care gaps in future times of healthcare disruption.

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来源期刊

Clinical breast cancer 医学-肿瘤学

CiteScore

5.40

自引率

3.20%

发文量

174

审稿时长

48 days

期刊介绍： Clinical Breast Cancer is a peer-reviewed bimonthly journal that publishes original articles describing various aspects of clinical and translational research of breast cancer. Clinical Breast Cancer is devoted to articles on detection, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of breast cancer. The main emphasis is on recent scientific developments in all areas related to breast cancer. Specific areas of interest include clinical research reports from various therapeutic modalities, cancer genetics, drug sensitivity and resistance, novel imaging, tumor genomics, biomarkers, and chemoprevention strategies.