Two-month stop in mammographic screening significantly impacts on breast cancer stage at diagnosis and upfront treatment in the COVID era.
ESMO Open
; 6(2): 100055, 2021 04.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33582382
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
The present analysis aims to evaluate the consequences of a 2-month interruption of mammographic screening on breast cancer (BC) stage at diagnosis and upfront treatments in a region of Northern Italy highly affected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus.METHODS:
This retrospective single-institution analysis compared the clinical pathological characteristics of BC diagnosed between May 2020 and July 2020, after a 2-month screening interruption, with BC diagnosed in the same trimester of 2019 when mammographic screening was regularly carried out.RESULTS:
The 2-month stop in mammographic screening produced a significant decrease in in situ BC diagnosis (-10.4%) and an increase in node-positive (+11.2%) and stage III BC (+10.3%). A major impact was on the subgroup of patients with BC at high proliferation rates. Among these, the rate of node-positive BC increased by 18.5% and stage III by 11.4%. In the subgroup of patients with low proliferation rates, a 9.3% increase in stage III tumors was observed, although node-positive tumors remained stable. Despite screening interruption, procedures to establish a definitive diagnosis and treatment start were subsequently carried out without delay.CONCLUSION:
Our data showed an increase in node-positive and stage III BC after a 2-month stop in BC screening. These findings support recommendations for a quick restoration of BC screening at full capacity, with adequate prioritization strategies to mitigate harm and meet infection prevention requirements.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Breast Neoplasms
/
Mass Screening
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Guideline
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
/
Screening_studies
Limits:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
ESMO Open
Year:
2021
Document type:
Article