Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34823067›Full record

Observational studyClinics and research in hepatology and gastroenterology2022

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on gastrointestinal cancer diagnosis and resection: An observational study.

Lauren Tal Grinspan, Sheila D Rustgi, Steven H Itzkowitz, Alexandros D Polydorides, Aimee L Lucas

Open access · greenAbstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Clinics and research in hepatology and gastroenterology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 28% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Lauren Tal GrinspanThe Dr. Henry D Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1069, New York, NY, United States of America.
Sheila D RustgiThe Dr. Henry D Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1069, New York, NY, United States of America.
Steven H ItzkowitzThe Dr. Henry D Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1069, New York, NY, United States of America; Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States of America.
Alexandros D PolydoridesThe Dr. Henry D Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1069, New York, NY, United States of America; Division of Gastrointestinal Pathology, Department of Pathology, Molecular and Cell-based Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States of America.
Aimee L LucasThe Dr. Henry D Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1069, New York, NY, United States of America. Electronic address: aimee.lucas@mssm.edu.
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine screening for and treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. We analyzed changes in GI cancer pathology specimens resulting from diagnostic and therapeutic procedures at a single academic center in an epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim was to determine which cancer types, procedures, and patients were impacted by the pandemic.

methodsThis was a retrospective, cohort study of patients identified based on carcinoma containing pathologic specimens reviewed in our institution resulting from diagnostic or resection procedures. Pathology and medical records of patients with GI and liver carcinoma and high-grade dysplasia were reviewed from February 1 to April 30 in 2018, 2019 and 2020. We used March 16, 2020 to delineate the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 period in 2020. Chi-squared or t-tests, as appropriate, were used to compare these time periods in each year. Mann Kendall test was used to test for trend in volume. ANCOVA was used to compare differences across years.

resultsA total of 1028 pathology samples from 949 unique patients were identified during the study period. There was a 57% drop in samples within 2020 (p = 0.01) that was not present in either 2018 or 2019 (p<0.01). In 2020, there were significantly fewer resections compared to biopsies overall in the COVID-19 period (p = 0.01). There were fewer colorectal cancer specimens (p = 0.04) which were procured from older patients (p<0.01) in the 2020 COVID-19 period compared to pre-COVID-19.

conclusionsIn our institution, there was a significant drop in diagnostic and resection specimens of GI cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionately affecting older colorectal cancer patients.

Indexed as

COVID-19Gastrointestinal NeoplasmsCohort StudiesHumansPandemicsRetrospective StudiesSARS-CoV-2Colon cancerCOVIDEndoscopyHepatocellular carcinoma

Identifiers

PMID34823067
PMCPMC8608414
OpenAlexW3216913029

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.