RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, teleconsultation was implemented in clinical practice to limit patient exposure to COVID-19 while monitoring their treatment and follow-up. We sought to examine the satisfaction of patients with breast cancer (BC) who underwent teleconsultations during this period. METHODS: Eighteen centres in France and Italy invited patients with BC who had at least one teleconsultation during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic to participate in a web-based survey that evaluated their satisfaction (EORTC OUT-PATSAT 35 and Telemedicine Satisfaction Questionnaire [TSQ] scores) with teleconsultation. RESULTS: Among the 1299 participants eligible for this analysis, 53% of participants were undergoing standard post-treatment follow-up while 22 and 17% were currently receiving active anticancer therapy for metastatic and localised cancers, respectively. The mean satisfaction scores were 77.4 and 73.3 for the EORTC OUT-PATSAT 35 and TSQ scores, respectively. In all, 52.6% of participants had low/no anxiety. Multivariable analysis showed that the EORTC OUT-PATSAT 35 score correlated to age, anxiety score and teleconsultation modality. The TSQ score correlated to disease status and anxiety score. CONCLUSION: Patients with BC were satisfied with oncology teleconsultations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teleconsultation may be an acceptable alternative follow-up modality in specific circumstances.
Asunto(s)
Neoplasias de la Mama/terapia , COVID-19/epidemiología , Oncología Médica/organización & administración , Satisfacción del Paciente/estadística & datos numéricos , Telemedicina , Adulto , Anciano , Neoplasias de la Mama/epidemiología , Neoplasias de la Mama/psicología , Femenino , Francia/epidemiología , Humanos , Italia/epidemiología , Oncología Médica/estadística & datos numéricos , Persona de Mediana Edad , Pandemias , Consulta Remota/organización & administración , Consulta Remota/estadística & datos numéricos , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Telemedicina/organización & administración , Telemedicina/estadística & datos numéricosAsunto(s)
Betacoronavirus , Neoplasias de la Mama , Carcinoma Intraductal no Infiltrante , Infecciones por Coronavirus , Pandemias , Neumonía Viral , Sociedades Médicas/normas , Betacoronavirus/clasificación , Neoplasias de la Mama/tratamiento farmacológico , Neoplasias de la Mama/radioterapia , Neoplasias de la Mama/cirugía , COVID-19 , Carcinoma Intraductal no Infiltrante/tratamiento farmacológico , Carcinoma Intraductal no Infiltrante/radioterapia , Carcinoma Intraductal no Infiltrante/cirugía , China/epidemiología , Infecciones por Coronavirus/diagnóstico , Infecciones por Coronavirus/epidemiología , Infecciones por Coronavirus/prevención & control , Infecciones por Coronavirus/transmisión , Femenino , Francia/epidemiología , Humanos , Gripe Humana/complicaciones , Italia/epidemiología , Neoplasias/epidemiología , Neoplasias/terapia , Pandemias/prevención & control , Neumonía Viral/diagnóstico , Neumonía Viral/epidemiología , Neumonía Viral/prevención & control , Neumonía Viral/transmisión , SARS-CoV-2RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Cancer patients have been reported to be at higher risk of COVID-19 complications and deaths. We report the characteristics and outcome of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 during breast cancer treatment at Institut Curie hospitals (ICH, Paris area, France). METHODS: An IRB-approved prospective registry was set up at ICH on March 13, 2020, for all breast cancer patients with COVID-19 symptoms or radiologic signs. Registered data included patient history, tumor characteristics and treatments, COVID-19 symptoms, radiological features, and outcome. Data extraction was done on April 25, 2020. COVID-19 patients were defined as those with either a positive RNA test or typical, newly appeared lung CT scan abnormalities. RESULTS: Among 15,600 patients actively treated for early or metastatic breast cancer during the last 4 months at ICH, 76 patients with suspected COVID-19 infection were included in the registry and followed. Fifty-nine of these patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 based on viral RNA testing (N = 41) or typical radiologic signs: 37/59 (63%) COVID-19 patients were treated for metastatic breast cancer, and 13/59 (22%) of them were taking corticosteroids daily. Common clinical features mostly consisted of fever and/or cough, while ground-glass opacities were the most common radiologic sign at diagnosis. We found no association between prior radiation therapy fields or extent of radiation therapy sequelae and extent of COVID-19 lung lesions. Twenty-eight of these 59 patients (47%) were hospitalized, and 6 (10%) were transferred to an intensive care unit. At the time of analysis, 45/59 (76%) patients were recovering or had been cured, 10/59 (17%) were still followed, and 4/59 (7%) had died from COVID-19. All 4 patients who died had significant non-cancer comorbidities. In univariate analysis, hypertension and age (> 70) were the two factors associated with a higher risk of intensive care unit admission and/or death. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective registry analysis suggests that the COVID-19 mortality rate in breast cancer patients depends more on comorbidities than prior radiation therapy or current anti-cancer treatment. Special attention must be paid to comorbidities when estimating the risk of severe COVID-19 in breast cancer patients.