Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37699107›Full record

ReviewThe oncologist2023

The Impact of COVID-19 on Treatment Practices for Patients With Early Breast Cancer: A Cross-Sectional Study From a Large Cancer Center in Italy.

Fabio Girardi, Sabrina Marini, Francesca Porra, Sonia Carpentieri, Alberto Marchet, Tania Saibene, Marcello Lo Mele, Tommaso Giarratano, Carlo Alberto Giorgi, Eleonora Mioranza and 6 more

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in The oncologist, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 31% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
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

16 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Fabio GirardiDivision of Medical Oncology 2, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-7094-7986
Sabrina MariniDivision of Medical Oncology 2, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
Francesca PorraDivision of Medical Oncology 2, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
Sonia CarpentieriDivision of Breast Surgery, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
Alberto MarchetDivision of Breast Surgery, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
Tania SaibeneDivision of Breast Surgery, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
Marcello Lo MeleDivision of Surgical Pathology, Azienda Ospedale-Università Padova, Padua, Italy.
Tommaso GiarratanoDivision of Medical Oncology 2, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-6746-8877
Carlo Alberto GiorgiDivision of Medical Oncology 2, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
Eleonora MioranzaDivision of Medical Oncology 2, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
Cristina FalciDivision of Medical Oncology 2, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
Giovanni FaggioniDivision of Medical Oncology 2, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
Francesca CaumoDivision of Breast Imaging, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
Gaia GriguoloDivision of Medical Oncology 2, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-8782-4509
Maria Vittoria DieciDivision of Medical Oncology 2, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
Valentina GuarneriDivision of Medical Oncology 2, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-2375-8397
Istituto Oncologico Veneto · ITUniversity of Padua · IT

Funding

Italian Ministry of Health Ricerca Corrente
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted health services worldwide. The evidence on the impact of the pandemic on cancer care provision, however, is conflicting. We aimed to audit the management of patients diagnosed with early breast cancer (EBC) during the pandemic in a large, tertiary-level cancer center in Italy.

methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study to track the route to first treatment for patients diagnosed with EBC during 2019, 2020, and 2021. We abstracted data for all consecutive patients referred to the Veneto Institute of Oncology (Padua, Italy). We defined as point of contact (POC) the date of the first consultation with a breast cancer specialist of the breast unit. First treatment was defined as either upfront surgery or neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT).

resultsWe reviewed medical records for 878 patients for whom an MDT report during 2019-2021 (April through June) was available. Of these, 431 (49%) were eligible. The proportion of screen-detected tumors was larger in 2019 and 2021 than in 2020 (59%). Conversely, the proportion of screen-detected tumors was offset by the proportion of palpable tumors in 2020 (P = .004). Distribution of tumor and nodal stage was unchanged over time, but in situ tumors were slightly fewer in 2020 than in 2019 or 2021. The adjusted odds ratio for treatment delay (45 days or more) was 0.87 for 2020 versus 2019 (95% CI, 0.5-1.53) and 0.9 for 2021 versus 2019 (95% CI, 0.52-1.55).

conclusionsThere was no evidence for major changes in the management of patients with EBC during 2019-2021 and no treatment delays were observed. Our findings suggest that more women presented with palpable nodules at diagnosis, but the stage distribution did not change over time. Validation on a larger cohort of patients is warranted to robustly assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on treatment practices for patients with EBC.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsCOVID-19Cross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansItalyPandemicsbreast cancercancer careCOVID-19treatment delay

Identifiers

PMID37699107
PMCPMC10712907
OpenAlexW4386632436

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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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.