Preliminary outcomes for non-metastatic breast cancer before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic at community cancer centers.

Authors

null

Fangzheng Yuan

Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas, Beaumont

Fangzheng Yuan , Ahmed Abdelhakeem , Samantha Blevins , Chelsey Peters , Susan E. Whalen , Ernest Clayton Hymel

Organizations

Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, TX, Cancer Center of Southeast Texas, Port Arthur, TX

Research Funding

No funding received

Background: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the delivery of cancer care and may have impacted the treatment outcomes. This study described the preliminary outcomes in non-metastatic breast cancer (BC) patients before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This retrospective study included adult patients newly diagnosed with non-metastatic BC at two community cancer centers in southeast Texas. Patients diagnosed from 1/2018-10/2018 were included in the control group. Patients diagnosed from 4/2020-1/2021 were included in the COVID-19 group. The key outcomes were progression free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), breast conserving surgery (BCS) rate, pathological complete response (PCR) rate, and time to treatment initiation (TTI). Results: The study included 74 patients (Table). The proportion of patients with self-detected BC was numerically higher in the COVID-19 group (55%) compared to the control group (36%), although this was not statistically significant (P = 0.09). The median follow-up periods were 38 (IQR: 36-43) months in the control group and 15 (IQR: 13-17) months in the COVID-19 group. No significant difference was observed in PFS (P = 0.74), with 1-year PFS of 93% (95%CI: 80%-98%) in the control group and 100% in the COVID-19 group. No significant difference was observed in OS (p = 0.22), with 1-year OS of 98% (95%CI 85%-100%) in the control group and 100% in the COVID-19 group. No significant difference was observed in TTI between control (51 days) and COVID-19 groups (52 days) (95%CI: -14 to 13; P = 0.91). Among patients who received neoadjuvant systemic therapy and surgery, BCS rates were 29% (5/17) in the control group and 50% (5/10) in the COVID-19 group (P = 0.42). Among patients who had triple negative or HER2 positive BC and received neoadjuvant systemic therapy and surgery, PCR rates were 57% (4/7) in the control group and 33% (1/3) in the COVID-19 group. Conclusions: Although total patient volume decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, no significant difference was observed in clinical outcomes when comparing patients diagnosed with non-metastatic BC during and prior to the pandemic. Ongoing monitoring with a larger study population and longer follow-up period will help to elucidate the long-term impact of COVID-19 on BC treatment.

Patient characteristics.

Control (n = 45)
COVID-19 (n = 29)
Age in years, mean (IQR)
68 (58-74)
63 (51-73)
Female, n (%)
43 (96)
29 (100)
Clinical stage, n (%)
 0
5 (11)
3 (10)
 1
19 (42)
11 (38)
 2
12 (27)
12 (41)
 3
8 (18)
3 (10)
 Unknown
1 (2)
0 (0)
Initial treatment, n (%)
 Surgery
27 (60)
18 (62)
 Systemic therapy
18 (40)
10 (34)
 Endocrine therapy
0 (0)
1 (3)
 ER/PR positive, n (%)
41 (91)
26 (90)
 HER2 positive, n (%)
9 (20)
3 (10)
 Triple negative, n (%)
3 (7)
3 (10)

Disclaimer

This material on this page is ©2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology, all rights reserved. Licensing available upon request. For more information, please contact licensing@asco.org

Abstract Details

Meeting

2022 ASCO Annual Meeting

Session Type

Publication Only

Session Title

Health Services Research and Quality Improvement

Track

Quality Care/Health Services Research

Sub Track

Quality Improvement

Citation

J Clin Oncol 40, 2022 (suppl 16; abstr e18634)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2022.40.16_suppl.e18634

Abstract #

e18634

Abstract Disclosures

Similar Abstracts

Abstract

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

COVID vs. non-COVID oncology patient cohorts: Demographics and cancer variables.

First Author: Bilja Kurian Sajith

Abstract

2023 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium

Overall survival (OS) in gastrointestinal (GI) neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) based on primary site, stage, and surgery.

First Author: Bahar Laderian