[이데일리 이순용 기자] The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.
As patients’ hospital visits decreased due to COVID-19, the number of breast cancer screening tests, diagnosed patients, and surgeries all decreased, while the proportion of patients diagnosed with advanced breast cancer increased. Since breast cancer has few early symptoms, it is often discovered through tests recently. If a visit to the hospital is delayed or examination is delayed, there is a high possibility that breast cancer will be detected late and treatment will be delayed.
A team led by Professor Kang Young-joon of the Department of Breast Surgery at Incheon St. Mary’s Hospital of the Catholic University of Korea conducted a survey on patients aged 18 and over at six hospitals affiliated with the Catholic Central Medical Center. The number of breast cancer screening tests, diagnosed patients, and surgeries was divided into two groups: February-April 2020, when the number of COVID-19 patients rapidly increased and social anxiety was amplified, and May-July, when Corona 19 was somewhat stabilized. compared to the period.
As a result of the study, the number of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients from February to July 2019, when there was no impact from COVID-19, was 1,669, while it decreased 9.9% to 1,369 during the same period in 2020.
The number of breast examinations (mammography or breast ultrasound) also decreased by 27.4%. In particular, in the case of February-April 2020, when the awareness of the COVID-19 crisis was prevalent, it decreased by 41% compared to the previous year.
The number of surgeries also decreased from 480 in 2019 to 438 in 2020 from February to April, and although it is relatively small, it also decreased to 522 and 503 in May and July, respectively. In addition, the clinical stages of 2019 and 2020 were compared. As a result, the difference in the stages of breast cancer between February and April was not statistically significant, but there was a difference between May and July, three months after the decrease in examination and diagnosis began. The number of patients diagnosed with stage II (IIB) breast cancer from May to July increased from 13.2% in 2019 to 17.01% in 2020, and stage IV (IV) was 4.5% in 2019 and 5.6% in 2020.
In addition, as a result of additional analysis by dividing the group based on the high-risk group for severe COVID-19 (65 years old), it was confirmed that the difference in clinical stage was significant only in breast cancer patients younger than 65 years of age from May to July. In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the stage migration of breast cancer was noticeable in younger people, even though the proportion of older people who received screenings decreased more.
Professor Kang Young-joon of Breast Surgery at Incheon St. Mary’s Hospital, Catholic University of Korea, said, “In this study, after the diagnosis of breast cancer decreased for about three months, it was possible to confirm the change in the stage of breast cancer in patients under the age of 65. Many people delay visits to hospitals due to an increase in the number of confirmed cases.
“However, it seems that the previous situation has recovered as the COVID-19 continues for a long time. According to a survey conducted by the Korean Breast Cancer Society at the end of last year, 8 out of 10 people expressed their willingness to test for COVID-19. Rather than avoiding hospitals unconditionally, it is important for people not to miss the treatment time through screening or diagnosis while paying attention to the corona 19 infection,” he added.
The results of this study were published in the latest issue of the international scientific journal ‘Journal of Breast Cancer’.
