Changes in gynecologic and breast cancer diagnoses during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: analysis from a tertiary academic gyneco-oncological center in Germany

Kaltofen, Till; Hagemann, Friederike; Harbeck, Nadia; Wuerstlein, Rachel; Kost, Bernd Peter; Burges, Alexander; Mahner, Sven; Trillsch, Fabian

PURPOSE: With the beginning of 2021, the world has been suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic for more than 1 year. More and more, we are able to evaluate side effects of the pandemic in the healthcare sector. A negative impact on cancer diagnoses is one of them. Careful observation of trends in an academic gyneco-oncological context appears important to identify potential negative developments. METHODS: We analyzed the case number of gynecologic and breast cancer diagnoses in the period from January to June 2020 compared to 2019 and during the period of the first general German lockdown (March 22nd until May 5th 2020). Patients were characterized by age, tumor type, FIGO or TNM stage and presence of symptoms at initial hospital presentation. RESULTS: The frequency of newly diagnosed gynecologic and breast cancer cases from beginning of January until end of June changed by − 10% and by − 12% during the lockdown in 2020 compared to 2019. In both periods, reduction of breast cancer cases was relatively larger than decrease of gynecologic cancers. Moreover, median patient age decreased. For the first half of 2020, we found a shift towards higher tumor stages (N+/M1 or FIGO III–IV). During the lockdown period, the appearance of tumor-associated symptoms at diagnosis increased by about 12%. CONCLUSION: This analysis illustrates the anticipated general decrease in diagnoses of primary cancers during the lockdown periods in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic for gynecologic and breast cancer cases.