Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Surgical Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Neoadjuvant Therapy: A Multicentric Study.

Vanni, Gianluca; Pellicciaro, Marco; Combi, Francesca; Papi, Simona; Materazzo, Marco; Segattini, Silvia; Rizza, Stefano; Chiocchi, Marcello; Perretta, Tommaso; Meucci, Rosaria; Portarena, Ilaria; Pistolese, Chiara Adriana; Ielpo, Benedetto; Campanelli, Michela; Lisi, Giorgio; Chiaravalloti, Agostino; Tazzioli, Giovanni; Buonomo, Oreste Claudio

BACKGROUND/AIM Due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, many scientific committees proposed neoadjuvant therapy (NACT) bridging treatment as a novel strategy and indication. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on breast cancer patients undergoing NACT. PATIENTS AND METHODS All breast cancer patients referred to two Breast Units during COVID-19-pandemic were enrolled. RESULTS Out of 814 patients, 43(5.3%) were enrolled in the COVID-19-group and compared with 94 (7.9%) similar Pre-COVID-19 patients. We observed a reduction in the number of patients undergoing NACT, p=0.0019. No difference was reported in terms of clinical presentation, indications, and tumor response. In contrast, a higher number of vascular adverse events was reported (6.9% vs. 0% p=0.029). Immediate breast cancer reconstructions following invasive surgery suffered a significant slowdown (5.9% vs. 47.7%, p=0.019). CONCLUSION COVID-19 caused a reduction in the number of patients undergoing NACT, with no changes in terms of indications, clinical presentation, and tumor response. Furthermore, there was an increased incidence of vascular events.