Background: COVID-19 pandemics caused a fear all around the world. Avoidance from hospitals caused a reduction in routine controls and screening programs. In this study, we explored differences in the diagnosis and treatment process of breast cancer (BC) patients in our hospital during pandemics. Material and methods: The declaration of COVID-19 pandemics was on March 11, 2020. Between March 11 and June 1, 2020, social isolation suggestions caused most people to beware of hospitals. Since June 1, normalization in social life has started in our country. We aimed to compare the pandemic period (March 11, 2020–June 1, 2020) with a previous similar period of 82 days (December 21, 2019–March 10, 2020) for applications, diagnoses, operations, and treatment options of BC patients in our hospital. Results: With the declaration of pandemics, patients who applied to outpatient clinics noticeably decreased. Patients who had BC diagnosis were 250 before and 146 after pandemics. The rate of patients referred to neoadjuvant treatment was similar, 13.6%, and 12.3% of newly diagnosed patients, respectively. During pandemics, there was a significant decrease in operations.Tabled 1Before pandemics (December 21, 2019 – March 10,2020)During pandemics (March 11, 2020 – June 1,2020)Application to outpatient clinics287055872Application to breast unit86862793Number of breast cancer patients1660 (19.1%)760 (27.3%)Breast cancer diagnosis250 (2.8%)146 (5.2%)Neoadjuvant treatment34 (13.6%)18 (12.3%)Wire guided biopsy7727Breast cancer operations (total)216128Mastectomy103 (47.6%)85 (66.4%)Breast Conserving Surgery75 (34.7%)40 (31.25%)Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy142 (65.7%)93 (72.6%)Axillary Dissection47 (21.7%)57 (44.5%)Operations after neoadjuvant treatment29 (13.4%)27 (21.1%) Open table in a new tab Conclusion: Our hospital is a reference center for cancer patients, which classified as a non-infected hospital that does not hospitalize confirmed COVID-19 patients. The increased BC diagnosis rate shows that most patients who came to our hospital already had a disease or need treatment. Breast cancer screening programs could not be worked effectively during pandemics, and routine diagnostic imagings were deferred. Therefore the number of patients who had early BC diagnosis with wire localization and biopsy significantly decreased. The number of BC operations after neoadjuvant treatment did not change because treatments were already planned. On the other hand, the increased rate of these operations in all BC surgeries may be caused an increase in mastectomy and axillary dissection rates during pandemics. Furthermore, the rate of patients referred to neoadjuvant treatment did not change, which means there was no difference in our treatment approach for BC patients and no extra delays for surgery. No conflict of interest.
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