Impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer stage at diagnosis according to race

Abstract

Purpose To determine if the COVID‐19 pandemic has further exacerbated racial disparities in late‐stage presentation of breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers. Methods We conducted a registry‐based retrospective study of patients with newly reported diagnoses of breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers between March 2019–June 2019 (pre‐COVID‐19) and March 2020–June 2020 (early‐COVID‐19). We compared the volume of new diagnoses and stage at presentation according to race between both periods. Results During the study period, a total of 3528 patients had newly diagnosed cancer; 3304 of which had known disease stages and were included in the formal analyses. 467 (14.1%) were Blacks, and 2743 were (83%) Whites. 1216 (36.8%) had breast, 415 (12.6%) had colorectal, 827 (25%) had lung, and 846 (25.6%) had prostate cancers, respectively. The pre‐COVID‐19 period included 2120 (64.2%), and the early‐COVID‐19 period included 1184 (35.8%), representing a proportional 44.2% decline in the volume of new cases of breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers, p < 0.0001. Pre‐COVID‐19, 16.8% were diagnosed with metastatic disease, versus 20.4% early‐COVID‐19, representing a proportional increase of 21.4% in the numbers of new cases with metastatic disease, p = 0.01. There was a non‐significant proportional decline of 1.9% in Black patients diagnosed with non‐metastatic breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers early‐COVID‐19 ( p = 0.71) and a non‐significant proportional increase of 7% in Black patients diagnosed with metastatic disease ( p = 0.71). Difference‐in‐difference analyses showed no statistically significant differences in metastatic presentation comparing Black to White patients. Conclusion While we identified substantial reductions in the volume of new cancer diagnoses and increases in metastatic presentations due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, the impact was similar for White and Black patients.

The stage of head and neck diagnosed malignancies in COVID‐19 outbreak versus before outbreak: A retrospective study

“…This study investigated the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on diagnosis and treatment of cancers by considering other causes both before and during the corona were sustained. 16 , 17 , 18 …”

“…In another study by Maringe et al 15 This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on diagnosis and treatment of cancers by considering other causes both before and during the corona were sustained. [16][17][18] In this study, the data was obtained only from patients in Iran, however, since there is a uniform cancer stage system across most coun- infections on head and neck cancer stage might be more challenging than other sites of cancers because it contains high concerns of the disease spread for both patients and healthcare providers.…”

Chiral Melanin-like Particle-Inspired Fluorescent Silicon Quantum Dots for Sensitively Detecting Inflammation in Cells

“…1,2 The disease is now known to affect multiple organs and cause a wide range of symptoms, 3−5 including severe pneumonia, which can lead to the production of "white lungs". 6 Reports of persistent and prolonged effects after acute COVID-19 are also increasing. 7 Therefore, there is a critical need to develop a sensitive and efficient test method that can prevent and predict the occurrence and progression of similar diseases.…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global healthcare crisis and put significant strain on healthcare resources. , The disease is now known to affect multiple organs and cause a wide range of symptoms, − including severe pneumonia, which can lead to the production of “white lungs” . Reports of persistent and prolonged effects after acute COVID-19 are also increasing .…”

Impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on clinical presentation, treatments, and outcomes of new breast cancer patients: A retrospective multicenter cohort study

“…45 Other studies in the US, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, obtained similar results. [12][13][14]30,43,[46][47][48][49] Studies showing no tumor shift, as displayed in the presented results, are scarce, 11,15 but may also have been underreported. Our study showed no difference in terms of frequency and modalities of breast reconstruction surgery in 2020 compared to 2019, unlike other studies that found less breast reconstruction surgeries post-pandemic, in consistence with scientific recommendations.…”