Impact of COVID-19 Disease in Early Breast Cancer Management: A Summary of the Current Evidence.

PURPOSE: An expert panel on breast cancer and COVID-19 disease was convened to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for early breast cancer (eBC) management. METHODS: To ensure that the most clinically relevant information was addressed, essential information was drawn from several of the latest national and international guidelines and another technical document. The expert panel met in five virtual closed sessions from November 2020 to May 2021 to consult on the relevant data from evidence-based results. The data gathered were discussed on an online platform. RESULTS: This article reports the expert panel's highlights of these meetings' discussions. In addition, it provides practical recommendations covering topics regarding diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with eBC in clinical settings routinely encountered by health care professionals amid the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: This article provided guidance on several topics regarding eBC management amid the COVID-19 pandemics to inform safer care practices.

Management of non-invasive tumours, benign tumours and breast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic: recommendations based on a Latin American survey.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed health systems across the world, both in general hospitals and in oncology institutes or centres.For cancer specialists, particularly breast cancer (BC), the COVID-19 pandemic represents a combination of challenges since the hospital resources and staff have become more limited; this has obliged oncology specialists to seek a consensus and establish which patients with BC require more urgent attention and which patients can wait until there is a better control of this pandemic. The health system in Latin America has some special characteristics; in some of the countries, there are shortages which limit access to several specialities (surgery, clinical oncology and radiotherapy) in some regions. OBJECTIVE: After a systematic review of the most recent literature regarding the management of BC during the COVID-19 pandemic, the main objective is to understand the position of the different Latin American Societies of Mastology in terms of available alternatives for the treatment of BC. METHODS: After carrying out a comprehensive and exhaustive search of the most recent guides on the management of BC during the COVID-19 pandemic, the board members of the Latin American Federation of Mastology invited, via email, different specialists, all experts in BC care, to complete an anonymous survey online.The survey was distributed between 30 and 10 May 2020. The survey included 27 questions on four topics: demographic information, consultations, imaging and treatment of BC.The questionnaire was sent and then distributed to various health specialists including breast surgeons, clinical oncologists, radiation oncologists and radiologists via the Presidents of the different Latin American Societies of Mastology in 18 countries. The results are summarised as tallies based on the number of responses to each question. RESULTS: A total of 499 responses were received. The majority of the respondents were males (275 (55.11%)); 290 participants were over 45 years (58.11%).The questionnaire presented those surveyed with three possible answers (agree, disagree and neither agree nor disagree). The results reflect that there was consensus in the majority of situations presented. Only seven questions revealed disagreement among those responding. The results are presented as recommendations. CONCLUSION: The management of patients with BC presents unique challenges during the current world health situation produced by COVID-19 pandemic. Breast care specialists (surgical oncologists, breast care clinicians, clinical oncologists, radiation oncologists and radiologists) from 18 countries in Central and South America submitted through their responses and recommendations for the treatment of BC during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Management of early breast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted early breast cancer (EBC) treatment worldwide. This study analyzed how Brazilian breast specialists are managing EBC. METHODS: An electronic survey was conducted with members of the Brazilian Society of Breast Cancer Specialists (SBM) between April 30 and May 11, 2020. Bivariate analysis was used to describe changes in how specialists managed EBC at the beginning and during the pandemic, according to breast cancer subtype and oncoplastic surgery. RESULTS: The response rate was 34.4% (503/1462 specialists). Most of the respondents (324; 64.4%) lived in a state capital city, were board-certified as breast specialists (395; 78.5%) and either worked in an academic institute or one associated with breast cancer treatment (390; 77.5%). The best response rate was from the southeast of the country (240; 47.7%) followed by the northeast (128; 25.4%). At the beginning of the pandemic, 43% changed their management approach. As the outbreak progressed, this proportion increased to 69.8% (p < 0.001). The southeast of the country (p = 0.005) and the state capital cities (p < 0.001) were associated with changes at the beginning of the pandemic, while being female (p = 0.001) was associated with changes during the pandemic. For hormone receptor-positive tumors with the best prognosis (Ki-67 < 20%), 47.9% and 17.7% of specialists would recommend neoadjuvant endocrine therapy for postmenopausal and premenopausal women, respectively. For tumors with poorer prognosis (Ki-67 > 30%), 34% and 10.9% would recommend it for postmenopausal and premenopausal women, respectively. Menopausal status significantly affected whether the specialists changed their approach (p < 0.00001). For tumors ≥ 1.0 cm, 42.9% of respondents would recommend neoadjuvant systemic therapy for triple-negative tumors and 39.6% for HER2 + tumors. Overall, 63.4% would recommend immediate total breast reconstruction, while only 3.4% would recommend autologous reconstruction. In breast-conserving surgery, 75% would recommend partial breast reconstruction; however, 54.1% would contraindicate mammoplasty. Furthermore, 84.9% of respondents would not recommend prophylactic mastectomy in cases of BRCA mutation. CONCLUSIONS: Important changes occurred in EBC treatment, particularly for hormone receptor-positive tumors, as the outbreak progressed in each region. Systematic monitoring could assure appropriate breast cancer treatment, mitigating the impact of the pandemic.