Impact of the COVID Pandemic on Prostate Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment: Results from a Croatian Tertiary Referral Center
The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the treatment of diseases other than COVID. The aim of our study was to demonstrate the impact it had on the diagnosis and treatment of patients with prostate cancer. By reviewing the work performed at the Clinic of Urology of the Clinical Hospital C...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Sestre Milosrdnice University hospital, Institute of Clinical Medical Research
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Acta Clinica Croatica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/467100 |
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| Summary: | The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the treatment of diseases
other than COVID. The aim of our study was to demonstrate the impact it had on the diagnosis and
treatment of patients with prostate cancer. By reviewing the work performed at the Clinic of Urology
of the Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka, we compared the following data for the period before the
pandemic (2018) and the period during the pandemic (2021): number of prostate biopsies performed,
number of newly-diagnosed cancers, PSA levels at biopsy, waiting time from the diagnosis to start of
the treatment, stage of disease at biopsy and stage after prostatectomy, and finally the treatment options
used. The results confirm the hypothesis that the pandemic had a negative impact on both diagnosis
and treatment. The number of newly-diagnosed patients decreased by 37.24%, which correlates
with a lower number of all prostate biopsies. We also noted a longer time to the start of the treatment
for patients and an increase in poorer pathohistological outcomes after radical prostatectomy. Due to
the higher disease stages, radiotherapy and chemotherapy were used more frequently. |
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| ISSN: | 0353-9466 1333-9451 |