ABSTRACT
Purpose : One major effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a delay in presentation and interruptions in delivery of care to patients with many different cancer types. The purpose of our study is to compare the clinical and genomic variables of uveal melanoma patients presenting before and after the start of the pandemic to assess the effect of the pandemic on a delay in care. Methods : This study is a retrospective chart review of uveal melanoma patients presenting during two time periods: May 2019 to February 2020 (Group 1: Before the COVID-19 pandemic declaration by the WHO in March 2020) and May 2020 to March 2021 (Group 2: After the start of the COVID-19 pandemic). Disease stages at presentation were analyzed by clinical and genomic variables including: thickness and largest base diameter of tumor, COMS size class, AJCC stage, GEP class, and Prame status. Results : A total of 80 patients with uveal melanoma were studied [Group 1: 40 (50%) and Group 2: 40 (50%);mean age: 62.5 years (range 25-84) and 64 years (range 30-91)]. There was no statistically significant difference between the tumor thickness, largest base dimension, and COMS size class between Group 1 (Pre-COVID) and Group 2 (During COVID). The majority of patients were found to be in AJCC class I/IIA in both groups [Group 1: 26 (65%) and Group 2: 27 (67.5%)] with no statistically significant difference in staging between the groups. Analyzed genomic data of GEP class and Prame expression also failed to show a difference between Group 1 and Group 2, with majority of patients found to be GEP Class IA [Group 1: 27 (69.2%) and Group 2: 25 (62.5%)] and Prame negative [Group 1: 28 (71.8%) and Group 2: 28 (70%)] for both groups. Conclusions : The study showed that the COVID-19 pandemic had no effect on the presentation of uveal melanoma patients at our center across various tumor characteristics that can be used as a surrogate marker for delayed presentation, including size, staging, and genomic data. A large-scale, long-term study is necessary to analyze the long-term consequences of the pandemic on uveal melanoma patients.