Cancer Diagnostic Delay in Northern and Central Italy During the 2020 Lockdown Due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.
Am J Clin Pathol
; 155(1): 64-68, 2021 Jan 04.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1066246
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
We performed data collection concerning the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic-related delay in the diagnosis of cancers to individuate proper corrective procedures.METHODS:
A comparison was made among the number of first pathologic diagnoses of malignancy made from weeks 11 to 20 of 2018, 2019, and 2020 at seven anatomic pathology units serving secondary care hospitals in northern-central Italy.RESULTS:
Cancer diagnoses fell in 2020 by 44.9% compared with the average number recorded in 2018 and 2019. Melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer represented 56.7% of all missing diagnoses. The diagnostic decrease in colorectal (-46.6%), prostate (-45%), and bladder (-43.6%) cancer was the most relevant among internal malignancies; for prostate, however, high-grade tumors were only moderately affected (-21.7%).CONCLUSIONS:
Diagnosis of cutaneous malignancies was mostly affected by the lockdown; among internal malignancies, corrective actions were mostly needed for colorectal cancer and invasive bladder cancer.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Early Detection of Cancer
/
Delayed Diagnosis
/
Physical Distancing
/
COVID-19
/
Neoplasms
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Am J Clin Pathol
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ajcp
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