Breast Cancer and SARS-Cov2: Lessons from a Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced drastic containment measures, which had a direct impact on breast cancer management. During the first wave, a delay in care and a decrease in new consultation numbers was observed. It would be interesting to study the resulting long-term consequences on breast cancer presentation and time to first treatment.

This retrospective cohort study was conducted at the surgery Department of the Anti-Cancer Center of Nice, France. Two periods of 6 months were compared: a pandemic period from June to December 2020 (after the end of the first wave), and a control period one year earlier. The primary endpoint was to measure the time to care access. The patients and cancer characteristics and the management type were also compared.

A total of 268 patients underwent diagnosis for breast cancer in each period. The time from biopsy to consultation was shortened after the containment was lifted (16 days vs. 18 days, p=0.024). The time between first consultation and treatment was unchanged between the two periods. The tumor size was larger in the pandemic period (21 mm vs. 18 mm, p=0.028). The clinical presentation was different: 59.8% of patients consulted for a palpable mass in the pandemic period, vs. 49.6% in the control period (p=0.023). There was no significant change in therapeutic management. The use of genomic testing was significantly increased. The number of breast cancer cases diagnosed decreased by 30% during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Even though a rebound was expected after the first wave, the number of consultations for breast cancer remained constant. This finding shows the fragility of screening adherence.

It is necessary to reinforce education in the face of crises that may be repeated. Management of breast cancer did not change, which is a reassuring aspect regarding the care pathway in anticancer centers.