A study of lymph node involvement in breast carcinoma during the covid pandemic

Abstract

Background. During the COVID-19 pandemic, access to health care and early detection / treatment of cancers were severely affected. This is a pathological study comparing the involvement of lymph nodes in breast carcinomas before the onset and during the current pandemic. Methods. A retrospective study was conducted on 30 patients with breast carcinomas (15 from January to March of 2019, and 15 from January to March of 2021), who were treated both by surgical excision of the tumor and by resection of the lymph nodes. Histopathological examination of the nodes was performed to detect malignant metastasis, and the average rate of lymph node positivity was calculated. Results. Lymph node metastasis was observed in 8 patients in 2019 and 10 patients in 2021. The average node positivity rate was significantly higher in 2021 than in 2019. During the covid-19 pandemic, there was a significant delay in the presentation of patients who developed symptoms of malignancy to the physician. This led to a delay in diagnosis and thus to the treatment of advanced malignancies, which caused metastases in the regional lymph nodes. Conclusion. Patient awareness should therefore be improved to ensure early presentation and reporting of symptoms. Surgeons must also carefully explore the dissecting field, to ensure that all lymph nodes involved are resected, thus avoiding recurrence and improving the overall patient’s prognosis.