Gynecologic cancer care in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

ObjectiveTo analyze the impact of the early COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis and initiation of treatment for patients with gynecologic cancer. MethodsPatients diagnosed with gynecologic cancer in the National Cancer Database during 2017–2020 were included. For the first aim, incidence rate ratios were calculated to compare gynecologic cancer diagnosis in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic to the three years prior, and factors associated with a reduction in diagnosis were identified. For the second aim, patients who experienced an 8-week delay in cancer treatment were compared to those who did not. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with treatment delay. Propensity score analysis was utilized to compare the rate of cancer treatment delay in patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 to those who were not. ResultsThe incidence rate ratio of being diagnosed with gynecologic cancer in 2020 versus 2017–2019 was 0.90 (95%CI 0.90–0.91). Factors associated with increased risk of missed or delayed diagnosis in 2020 included cervical cancer, earlier cancer stage, younger age, lower levels of medical comorbidity, and lack of health insurance. In 2020, factors associated with treatment delay included COVID-19 diagnosis (aOR 1.50, 95%CI 1.35–1.67), in addition to race and ethnicity, insurance type, comorbidity, cancer stage, and primary site. The risk of treatment delay remained significantly elevated in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 after propensity-score matching. ConclusionsGynecologic cancer diagnosis and timely provision of care were negatively impacted during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with certain subgroups at elevated risk.