The Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy for Advanced Cervical Cancer at a Romanian Academic Center: A Four-Year Retrospective Analysis
Alin Popescu,
Stelian Pantea,
Daniela Radu,
Adrian Gluhovschi,
Catalin Dumitru,
George Dahma,
Adelina Geanina Mocanu,
Radu Neamtu,
Sorin Dema,
Codruta Victoria Tigmeanu,
Mirela Loredana Grigoras,
Silvius Alexandru Pescariu,
Hazzaa Aabed,
Marius Craina
Affiliations
Alin Popescu
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Stelian Pantea
Department of General Surgery, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Daniela Radu
Department of General Surgery, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Adrian Gluhovschi
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Catalin Dumitru
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
George Dahma
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Adelina Geanina Mocanu
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Radu Neamtu
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Sorin Dema
Discipline of Radiology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Codruta Victoria Tigmeanu
Department of Technology of Materials and Devices in Dental Medicine, Multidisciplinary Center for Research, Evaluation, Diagnosis and Therapies in Oral Medicine, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Mirela Loredana Grigoras
Department of Anatomy and Embryology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Silvius Alexandru Pescariu
Department VI, Cardiology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Hazzaa Aabed
Department of Plastic Surgery, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Marius Craina
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Background and Objectives: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, health systems worldwide adapted to support COVID-19 patients while continuing to provide assistance to patients with other potentially fatal illnesses. While patients with cancer may be at an elevated risk of severe COVID-19-related complications, their oncologic therapies generally cannot be postponed indefinitely without a negative effect on outcomes. Taking this into account, a thorough examination of the therapy management of various cancers is necessary, such as cervical cancer. Therefore, we aimed to develop a retrospective cohort study to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the delivery of cancer care services for women diagnosed with cervical cancer staged IB2-IVA, necessitating chemo- and radiotherapy in Romania, as well as determine the difference in cervical cancer staging between the pandemic and pre-pandemic period. Materials and Methods: Using a multicentric hospital database, we designed a retrospective study to compare the last 24 months of the pre-pandemic period to the first 24 months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic to evaluate the variation in the proportion of women diagnosed with cervical cancer and the percentage of inoperable cases requiring chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as well as to detail their clinical presentation and other findings. Results: We observed that the likelihood of cervical cancer patients requiring radiation therapy at a later stage than before the pandemic increased by about 20% during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients at an advanced FIGO stage of cervical cancer had a 3.39 higher likelihood of disease progression after radiotherapy (CI [2.06–4.21], p-value p-value Conclusions We predict that there will be a considerable rise in cervical cancer cases over the next several years based on existing data and that expanding screening and treatment capacity will attenuate this with a minimal increase in morbidity and fatality.
