TRENDS IN PROSTATE CANCER DIAGNOSIS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: SINGLE-INSTITUTION EXPERIENCE

The aim of this study was to compare the number of biopsy and surgical procedures on prostate, as well as the number of newly diagnosed, histologically confirmed cases of prostate cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic at Zagreb University Hospital Center (UHC). We retrospectively collected and processed a total of 1344 histopathologic findings of the prostate at the Zagreb UHC. Our results show that during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a statistically significant decrease in the absolute number of biopsy and surgical procedures on prostate at Zagreb UHC, and so was the number of newly diagnosed, histologically confirmed cases of prostate cancer. During the observed time of the pandemic (March 19, 2020 to December 31, 2020), there was a 37.5% decrease in the absolute number of newly diagnosed prostate cancer cases compared to the same period of the previous year (March 19, 2019 to December 31, 2019). To our knowledge, this is the first study of this kind that is based on the number of prostate cancer diagnoses in Croatia. By observing the early period of the pandemic, our results provide important guidelines for monitoring and understanding the long-term consequences of the pandemic on the prostate cancer morbidity and mortality.