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Wickenheisser NE, Dillon M, Broadwater G, Zacherl K, Bixel K, Levine M, Newton M, Thel H, Tucker K, Gehrig P, Khetan VU, Brunette-Masi LL, Matsuo K, Khouri OR, Duhon A, Gowthaman D, Cowan M, Mojdehbakhsh R, Rose S, Olawaiye A, Davidson BA, Moss HA, Havrilesky LJ. Radical hysterectomy case volume and cervical cancer treatment in the era of COVID-19: A multi-site analysis of National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Gynecol Oncol 2023; 179:70-78. [PMID: 37944328 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2023.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To compare radical hysterectomy case volume, cancer stage, and biopsy-to-treatment time of invasive cervical cancer diagnosed before and after onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS In a multi-institution retrospective cohort study conducted at 6 large, geographically diverse National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers, patients treated for newly diagnosed invasive cervical cancer were classified into 2 temporal cohorts based on date of first gynecologic oncology encounter: (1) Pre-Pandemic: 3/1/2018-2/28/2020; (2) Pandemic & Recovery: 4/1/2020-12/31/2021. The primary outcome was total monthly radical hysterectomy case volume. Secondary outcomes were stage at diagnosis and diagnosis-to-treatment time. Statistical analyses used chi-squared and two sample t-tests. RESULTS Between 3/1/2018-12/31/2021, 561 patients were diagnosed with cervical cancer. The Pre-Pandemic and Pandemic & Recovery cohorts had similar age, race, ethnicity, smoking status, and Body Mass Index (BMI). During Pandemic & Recovery, the mean monthly radical hysterectomy case volume decreased from 7[SD 2.8] to 5[SD 2.0] (p = 0.001), the proportion of patients diagnosed with Stage I disease dropped from 278/561 (49.5%) to 155/381 (40.7%), and diagnosis of stage II-IV disease increased from 281/561 (50.1%) to 224/381 (58.8%). Primary surgical management was less frequent (38.3% Pandemic & Recovery versus 46.7% Pre-Pandemic, p = 0.013) and fewer surgically-treated patients received surgery within 6 weeks of diagnosis (27.4% versus 38.9%; p = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS Lower radical hysterectomy case volume, a shift to higher cervical cancer stage, and delay in surgical therapy were observed across the United States following the COVID-19 outbreak. Decreased surgical volume may result from lower detection of early-stage disease or other factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie E Wickenheisser
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Duke University Health System, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Mairead Dillon
- Biostatistics Shared Resources, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Gloria Broadwater
- Biostatistics Shared Resources, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Kathleen Zacherl
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Duke University Health System, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Kristin Bixel
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, United States of America
| | - Monica Levine
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, United States of America
| | - Meredith Newton
- Divison of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of North Carolina Medical Center, Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America
| | - Hannah Thel
- University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America
| | - Katherine Tucker
- Divison of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of North Carolina Medical Center, Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America
| | - Paola Gehrig
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States of America
| | - Varun U Khetan
- Divison of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Laurie L Brunette-Masi
- Divison of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Koji Matsuo
- Divison of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Olivia R Khouri
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, United States of America
| | - Ashley Duhon
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, United States of America
| | - Divya Gowthaman
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, United States of America
| | - Matthew Cowan
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, United States of America
| | - Rachel Mojdehbakhsh
- Divison of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Wisconsin Health, Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Stephen Rose
- Divison of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Wisconsin Health, Madison, WI, United States of America
| | - Alexander Olawaiye
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America
| | - Brittany A Davidson
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Duke University Health System, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Haley A Moss
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Duke University Health System, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Laura J Havrilesky
- Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Duke University Health System, Durham, NC, United States of America.
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