ArticleESMO open2022
Evaluation of COVID-19 impact on DELAYing diagnostic-therapeutic pathways of lung cancer patients in Italy (COVID-DELAY study): fewer cases and higher stages from a real-world scenario.
Article in ESMO open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 46 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer: A systematic review of the impact of COVID-19 on patient care.Preventive medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Lung Cancer Screening and Diagnosis: A Systematic Review.Cancers · 2026Review
- Observational
- Health system strengthening recommendations for lung cancer care: lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.The oncologist · 2026Article
- COVID-19 and Lung Cancer Interactions: A Literature Review.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Negative Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Gastric Cancer Care in Japan: A Tokushukai Real-World Data Project 08 (TREAD 08).JGH open : an open access journal of gastroenterology and hepatology · 2025Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Diagnosis and Multidisciplinary Treatment of NSCLC in Ontario, Canada.JTO clinical and research reports · 2025Article
- Lung Cancer Under Siege in Spain: Timeliness, Treatment, and Survival Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic.Cancers · 2025Article
- Review
- Pleural mesothelioma incidence and use of systemic treatment decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic in The Netherlands.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Fast-Track Diagnostic Pathway for Lung Cancer Detection: Single-Center Experience.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Disruptions in Lung Cancer Detection During COVID-19.Cancers · 2024Article
- Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on bone and soft tissue sarcoma patients' consultation and diagnosis.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Adult Hodgkin lymphoma incidence trends in the United States from 2000 to 2020.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Diagnostic and therapeutic delays in lung cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic: a single center experience at a German Cancer center.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2024Article
- The consecutive impact of COVID-19 on thoracic surgical procedures in Japan: an analysis of data from the National Clinical Database.Surgery today · 2024Article
- High remnant cholesterol as a risk factor for developing chronic kidney disease in patients with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study of a US population.Acta diabetologica · 2024Article
- The journey of lung cancer patients from symptoms to diagnosis in Greece. A mixed methods approach.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2024Article
- Racial disparities in staging, treatment, and mortality in non-small cell lung cancer.Translational lung cancer research · 2024Article
- The impact of the UK COVID-19 lockdown on the screening, diagnostics and incidence of breast, colorectal, lung and prostate cancer in the UK: a population-based cohort study.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
62 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionCOVID-19 has disrupted the global health care system since March 2020. Lung cancer (LC) patients (pts) represent a vulnerable population highly affected by the pandemic. This multicenter Italian study aimed to evaluate whether the COVID-19 outbreak had an impact on access to cancer diagnosis and treatment of LC pts compared with pre-pandemic time.
methodsConsecutive newly diagnosed LC pts referred to 25 Italian Oncology Departments between March and December 2020 were included. Access rate and temporal intervals between date of symptoms onset and diagnostic and therapeutic services were compared with the same period in 2019. Differences between the 2 years were analyzed using the chi-square test for categorical variables and the Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables.
resultsA slight reduction (-6.9%) in newly diagnosed LC cases was observed in 2020 compared with 2019 (1523 versus 1637, P = 0.09). Newly diagnosed LC pts in 2020 were more likely to be diagnosed with stage IV disease (P < 0.01) and to be current smokers (someone who has smoked more than 100 cigarettes, including hand-rolled cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, in their lifetime and has smoked in the last 28 days) (P < 0.01). The drop in terms of new diagnoses was greater in the lockdown period (percentage drop -12% versus -3.2%) compared with the other months included. More LC pts were referred to a low/medium volume hospital in 2020 compared with 2019 (P = 0.01). No differences emerged in terms of interval between symptoms onset and radiological diagnosis (P = 0.94), symptoms onset and cytohistological diagnosis (P = 0.92), symptoms onset and treatment start (P = 0.40), and treatment start and first radiological revaluation (P = 0.36).
conclusionsOur study pointed out a reduction of new diagnoses with a shift towards higher stage at diagnosis for LC pts in 2020. Despite this, the measures adopted by Italian Oncology Departments ensured the maintenance of the diagnostic-therapeutic pathways of LC pts.
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