Delayed melanoma diagnosis in the COVID‐19 era: increased breslow thickness in primary melanomas seen after the COVID‐19 lockdown

Ricci, Francesco; Fania, Luca; Paradisi, Andrea; Lella, Giovanni Di; Pallotta, Sabatino; Sobrino, Luciano; Panebianco, Annarita; Annessi, Giorgio; Abeni, Damiano

doi:10.1111/jdv.16874

Cited by 73 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…17 Moreover, studies from Italy showed a statistically significant increase in mean Breslow thickness during the post-lockdown phase compared with the pre-lockdown and decreased detection of melanoma during the COVID-19 pandemic. 18,19 Another study from the United Kingdom has reported that the NMSCs excised in 2020 required significantly larger and more complex surgery than in 2019. 20 Altogether, these findings suggest an increased delay in the diagnosis of skin cancers, which in turn might result in more advanced disease requiring more complex surgical procedures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, a recent report from the United Kingdom has shown a decrease up to 47% in the number of non‐melanoma skin cancer treated and melanoma patients undergoing sentinel lymph node biopsies 17 . Moreover, studies from Italy showed a statistically significant increase in mean Breslow thickness during the post‐lockdown phase compared with the pre‐lockdown and decreased detection of melanoma during the COVID‐19 pandemic 18,19 . Another study from the United Kingdom has reported that the NMSCs excised in 2020 required significantly larger and more complex surgery than in 2019 20 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Public interest in dermatologic symptoms, conditions, treatments, and procedures during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Insights from Google Trends

Esen-Salman

Akın-Çakıcı

Kardeş

et al. 2021

Dermatologic Therapy

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had substantial effect both on daily life and medical practice. Internet data have been used to analyze the trends in public interest in various medical conditions and treatments. The aim of this study is to analyze the public interest in dermatologic symptoms, conditions, treatments, and procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Google Trends was queried for a total of 120 dermatological search queries. Three periods of 2020 ([March 15-May 9], [May

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public interest in dermatologic symptoms, conditions, treatments, and procedures during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Insights from Google Trends

Esen-Salman

Akın-Çakıcı

Kardeş

et al. 2021

Dermatologic Therapy

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show abstract

“…melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma) and data was incomplete [ 2 ]. One institutional series from Italy suggested diagnostic delay for melanoma, though generalizability is limited given the narrow population coverage [ 3 ]. We hypothesized that the impact on skin cancer care in a Canadian population-level sample would be substantial, with potential differences between skin cancer types and some patient groups.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on skin cancer diagnosis: A population-based study

2021

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Background The 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. Methods Using 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. Results A 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). Interpretation A 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.

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“…Curiosamente, no se ha evidenciado que retrasos por causa médica o demoras en la cirugía durante el confinamiento sean causa de tumores de mayor tamaño. Existen trabajos de un único centro con resultados similares tanto en nuestro país 7 como en otros países como Italia 8 .…”

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Efecto del confinamiento por la pandemia de COVID-19 en el diagnóstico y el tratamiento del cáncer de piel

Tejera‐Vaquerizo¹

2021

Piel

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Delayed melanoma diagnosis in the COVID‐19 era: increased breslow thickness in primary melanomas seen after the COVID‐19 lockdown

Cited by 73 publications

References 5 publications

Public interest in dermatologic symptoms, conditions, treatments, and procedures during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Insights from Google Trends

Public interest in dermatologic symptoms, conditions, treatments, and procedures during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Insights from Google Trends

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on skin cancer diagnosis: A population-based study

Efecto del confinamiento por la pandemia de COVID-19 en el diagnóstico y el tratamiento del cáncer de piel

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