Delayed diagnosis and increased mortality risk: Assessing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on breast cancer recurrence.

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant global impact since its declaration in March 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted cancer patients, particularly those with breast cancer. This study aims to analyze the effects of the pandemic on women diagnosed with breast cancer recurrence. METHODS: A cohort study was conducted at a tertiary public hospital in São Paulo State, Brazil. Data were collected from electronic records. Patients diagnosed with breast cancer and experiencing recurrence between January 2011 and March 2022 were included. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier estimator and Cox regression. RESULTS: The study included 187 patients, 45 in the pandemic group (recurrence after March 23, 2020) and 142 in the pre-pandemic group. Distant recurrences were more frequent in both groups (pre-pandemic: 62.7 %, pandemic: 75.5 %). Compared to the pre-pandemic group (1.8 years), the pandemic group experienced a longer mean time to recurrence detection (2.9 years) and significantly decreased median survival (9 months vs. 22 months). The Cox regression analysis confirmed an increased risk of death for women diagnosed with breast cancer recurrence during the pandemic period (HR = 1.92, 95 % CI 1.19‒3.12). CONCLUSION: The present study is among the first to investigate the pandemic's specific effects on breast cancer recurrence, revealing concerning delays in detection and a decrease in survival rates. Prompt diagnosis, timely treatment initiation, and comprehensive support are crucial during public health crises. These findings urge healthcare systems to prioritize tailored care for breast cancer patients during pandemics.

Mastectomia preventiva em situações de câncer de mama precoce / Preventive mastectomy in situations of early breast cancer: an integrative review

A mastectomia preventiva relacionada às neoplasias de mama precoces é um tema de grande importância na área da oncologia, especialmente para mulheres com alto risco genético de desenvolver câncer de mama. Objetivo: Descrever como a mastectomia relaciona-se com a prevenção de neoplasias de mama precoces. Métodos: Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa da literatura. Para construção da pesquisa, a coleta e análise de dados foi realizada através do Portal da Biblioteca Virtual da Saúde e da base de dados Medical Literature Analysis and Retrievel System Online via PubMed, através dos Descritores em Ciências da Saúde (DeCS): "Mastectomia Profilática", "Neoplasias da Mama" e "Fatores de Risco" combinados entre si pelo operador booleano AND. Como critérios de inclusão: estudos relacionados à temática excluindo-se as revisões de literatura, com delimitação temporal dos últimos cinco anos, nos idiomas inglês, português e espanhol. A questão norteadora foi construída com base na estratégia PICo de acordo com a descrição (População, Interesse e Contexto). Resultados: Foram encontrados 76 artigos, destes 64 foram excluídos devido aos filtros utilizados e a leitura dos resumos e na íntegra, restando apenas 12 estudos para compor a amostra final. Em suma, os estudos demonstram que a mastectomia preventiva pode oferecer às mulheres com alto risco genético uma opção para reduzir suas chances de desenvolver câncer de mama. Conclusão: A mastectomia preventiva relacionada às neoplasias de mama precoces é uma opção terapêutica complexa e individualizada, que busca reduzir o risco de desenvolvimento ou recorrência do câncer de mama em mulheres de alto risco

: Preventive mastectomy related to early breast neoplasms is a topic of great concern in the field of oncology, especially for women with a high genetic risk of developing breast cancer. Objective: To describe how mastectomy is related to the prevention of early breast cancer. Methods: This is an integrative literature review. For the construction of the research, data collection and analysis was carried out through the Virtual Health Library Portal and the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrievel System Online database via PubMed, through the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS): "Prophylactic Mastectomy","Breast Neoplasms" and "Risk Factors" combined with the Boolean AND operator. As inclusion criteria: studies related to the theme excluding literature reviews,with publication time delimitation of the last five years, in English, Portuguese and Spanish. The research question was structured based on the PICo strategy according to the description (Population, Interest and Context). Results: 76 articles were found, of which 64 were excluded after the filters application. We performed the reading of abstracts and full text, and 12 studies were selected to compose the final sample. In summary, studies demonstrate that preventive mastectomy can offer women at high genetic risk an option to reduce their chances of developing breast cancer. Conclusion: Preventive mastectomy related to early breast neoplasms is a complex and individualized therapeutic option that seeks to reduce the risk of breast cancer development or recurrence in high-risk women