Abstract
With more than 82 million cases worldwide and almost two million deaths, the Covid-19 global pandemic shows little sign of abating. However, its effect on quality of life (QoL) in skin cancer patients has not been systematically evaluated to date. Given that QoL impairments may be associated with increased psychological morbidity, and may interfere with engagement with cancer therapy and follow-up, we prospectively evaluated quality of life in skin cancer patients using the Covid-19 Emotional Impact Survey (C-19EIS) and the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaires. 101 patients (48 females and 53 males) completed both questionnaires. The mean C-19EIS score was 3.8 on a scale from 0 (no impact) to 12 (severe impact). Patients undergoing systemic therapy showed significantly impaired physical (p = 0.006) and social functioning (p = 0.003). However, when compared to the published normative EORTC QLQ-C30 data, there was no evidence that the Covid-19 pandemic had significantly impacted upon overall quality of life. Subscales of the EORTC QLQ-C30 were significantly inversely correlated with the C-19EIS, validating its use in skin cancer patients. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, skin cancer patients in our tertiary referral center were surprisingly resilient. However, given the geographical variations in the rates of Sars-CoV-2 infection it is possible that the low incidence in Northern Germany may have resulted in a lack of general QoL impairments. Multi-center studies are required to further determine the impact of Covid-19 on psychological wellbeing in skin cancer patients in order to develop supportive interventions and to ensure that engagement with cancer care services is maintained in order to enable early detection of cancer progression and/or recurrence.
Highlights
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is a member of the coronavirus family and is responsible for the development of Covid-19 disease
Patients with skin cancer reported low levels of concern regarding the impact of Covid-19 on their quality of life
Little attention has been paid to date on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the quality of life and emotional wellbeing of patients with skin cancer, despite the fact that skin cancer is the fifth most common type of cancer worldwide
Summary
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is a member of the coronavirus family and is responsible for the development of Covid-19 disease. Considered to be primarily a pulmonary disease, it is clear that Covid-19 is a multi-system infection that can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. PT reports speaker’s honoraria from BMS, Novartis, MSD, Pierre-Fabre, CureVac and Roche, consultant’s honoraria from BMS, Novartis, Pierre-Fabre, Merck Serono, Sanofi und Roche and travel support from BMS, Pierre-Fabre and Roche. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.
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