ArticleWorld journal of surgical oncology2021
The impact of treatment delay on skin cancer in COVID-19 era: a case-control study.
Article in World journal of surgical oncology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on melanoma diagnosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of global evidence.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Diagnosis of Melanoma and Keratinocyte Carcinomas: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Acta dermato-venereologica · 2024Pooled it
- The Epidemiology of Malignant Melanoma during the First Two Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Oncological Care During a Crisis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer of the Head and Neck Region in the COVID-19 Pandemic.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Epithelial skin cancer before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- A Comprehensive Review of Various Therapeutic Strategies for the Management of Skin Cancer.ACS omega · 2024Review
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Diagnosis and Management of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer in the Head and Neck Region: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
- Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis of patients with skin cancer: a systematic review protocol.BMJ open · 2023Article
- The Efficacy of Wide-Awake Local Anesthesia No Tourniquet (WALANT) in Common Plastic Surgery Operations Performed on the Upper Limbs: A Case-Control Study.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- A Meta-Analysis on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cutaneous Melanoma Diagnosis in Europe.Cancers · 2022Review
- Determinants of COVID-19 Outcome as Predictors of Delayed Healthcare Services among Adults ≥50 Years during the Pandemic: 2006-2020 Health and Retirement Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Skin Cancer Research Goes Digital: Looking for Biomarkers within the Droplets.Journal of personalized medicine · 2022Review
- Changes in the quality of cancer care as assessed through performance indicators during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020: a scoping review.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on subcutaneous venous port-related complications in patients with cancer: a retrospective case-control study.World journal of surgical oncology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic led to a 2-month lockdown in Europe. Elective surgeries, including skin cancer excisions, were postponed. The purpose of this prospective case-control study was to assess the impact of the treatment delay on patients with non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) or melanoma operated in the first post-lockdown period.
methodsA comparative study of skin cancer operations performed in a 4-month period either in 2020 or in 2019 was conducted. All data were collected from a prospectively maintained clinic database and the pathological reports. Continuous variables were compared with t test or Mann-Whitney U test according to their distribution. Categorical variables were compared with Fisher exact test. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was used to assess the risk of excising high-risk NMSC in 2020 compared with 2019.
resultsSkin cancer excision was performed in 158 cases in 2020 compared to 125 cases in 2019 (26.4% increase). Significantly, more SCC were excised in 2020 (p = 0.024). No significant difference for several clinical parameters regarding BCC, SCC, and melanoma was identified. However, the reconstructive method applied, following NMSC excision, was significantly different, requiring frequently either skin grafting or a flap.
conclusionThese results indicate that skin cancer treatment delay, due to COVID-19 pandemic, is related to an increased incidence of SCC and more complicated methods of reconstruction. Considering the relapsing COVID-19 waves, significant skin cancer treatment delays should be avoided.
trial registrationThe study adhered to the STROBE statement for case-control studies.
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