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Cancers
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How COVID-19 Affects Cancer Patients
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How COVID-19 Affects Cancer Patients

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 January 2025 | Viewed by 11876

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Maria Fiore

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medical and Surgical Science and Advanced Technologies "G.F. Ingrassia", University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: environmental health; environmental markers of risk and the use of integrated tools for environmental risk assessment; protecting the health of the community; food hygiene; health education; public health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The effects of COVID-19 vary according to the patients’ characteristics and tumor type.

Older patients and those with hematological diseases are most at risk. In patients with blood cancers, COVID-19 has a greater impact and degree of lethality. Furthermore, patients with lung and prostate cancer appear to be at a reduced risk of suffering from COVID-19 infection and dying from it, while women with breast and gynecological cancers are those with the most minor risk of infection.

Novel research in this area of interest will be able to explain the variation in the risks associated with COVID-19 based on the characteristics and tumor type of cancer patients.

Dr. Maria Fiore
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • pandemic
  • cancer
  • impact
  • incidence
  • mortality
  • lethality
  • disparities
  • gender

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 671 KiB  
Article
Changes in Time to Initial Physician Contact and Cancer Stage Distribution during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Patients with Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma at a Large Hungarian Cancer Center
by Éva Szabó, Eszter Kopjár, László Rumi, Árpád Boronkai, Szabolcs Bellyei, Zoltán Gyöngyi, Antal Zemplényi, Balázs Sütő, János Girán, István Kiss, Éva Pozsgai and István Szanyi
Cancers 2024, 16(14), 2570; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16142570 - 18 Jul 2024
Viewed by 970
Abstract
The aim of our study was to compare the characteristics and time to initial physician contact in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic at a large Hungarian cancer center. This was a retrospective study [...] Read more.
The aim of our study was to compare the characteristics and time to initial physician contact in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic at a large Hungarian cancer center. This was a retrospective study of patients 18 years or older presenting at the regional cancer center of Pécs Clinical Center with HNSCC between 1 January 2017, and 15 March 2020 (the pre-COVID-19 period) and between 16 March 2020, and 13 May 2021 (the COVID-19 period). Demographic and clinical data were collected, and the time between initial symptom onset and initial physician contact (TTP) was determined. Descriptive and exploratory statistical analyses were performed. On average, the number of patients diagnosed with HNSCC per month during the pandemic decreased by 12.4% compared with the pre-COVID-19 period. There was a significant increase in stage I and stage II cancers (from 15.9% to 20.3% and from 12.2% to 13.8%, respectively; p < 0.001); a decrease in stage III and IVa,c cancers; and a significant increase in stage IVb cancers (from 6% to 19.9%; p < 0.001) during the pandemic. The median TTP increased during the pandemic from 43 to 61 days (p = 0.032). To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the effect of COVID-19 on patients with HNSCC in the Central–Eastern European region. We found a bidirectional shift in cancer stages and increased TTP during the pandemic. Our findings highlight the necessity for more nuanced analyses of the effects of COVID-19. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How COVID-19 Affects Cancer Patients)
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10 pages, 886 KiB  
Article
Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Pandemic on Characteristics and Management of Uveal Melanoma in the National Referral Center in Poland
by Bożena Romanowska-Dixon, Michał Szymon Nowak, Janusz Śmigielski and Magdalena Dębicka-Kumela
Cancers 2024, 16(11), 2061; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16112061 - 29 May 2024
Viewed by 774
Abstract
(1) Background: to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the characteristics and management of uveal melanoma (UM) in the National Referral Center in Poland. (2) Materials and Methods: the retrospective analysis of 1336 patients who were newly diagnosed with UM at [...] Read more.
(1) Background: to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the characteristics and management of uveal melanoma (UM) in the National Referral Center in Poland. (2) Materials and Methods: the retrospective analysis of 1336 patients who were newly diagnosed with UM at the Department of Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic Oncology, Jagiellonian University Collegium Medicum Krakow, Poland between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2021. The demographic and clinical data were compiled, including localization, size, and treatment methods of tumors. (3) Results: In total, 728 patients with UM were included before the COVID-19 pandemic, in the years 2018–2019, and 608 were included during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the years 2020–2021. Fixed-base dynamics indicators for the incidence of uveal melanoma (base year 2018) in the National Referral Center in Poland were 80.22% and 86.81% in the years 2020 and 2021, respectively. UMs were statistically significantly larger and more frequently localized anterior to the equator of the eye globe in the year 2021 than in the year 2018 (Chi-square Pearson test p = 0.0001 and p = 0.0077, respectively). The rate of patients treated with enucleation increased from 15.94% in the year 2018 to 26.90% in the year 2021 (Chi-square Pearson test p = 0.0005). (4) Conclusions: Statistically significant differences were found in the management of uveal melanoma in the National Referral Center in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic with tumors being larger, more frequently localized anterior to the equator of the eye globe, and more often enucleated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How COVID-19 Affects Cancer Patients)
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14 pages, 551 KiB  
Article
Two-Year-Span Breast Cancer Screening Uptake in Japan after the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Association with the COVID-19 Vaccination
by Aminu Kende Abubakar, Yudai Kaneda, Akihiko Ozaki, Hiroaki Saito, Michio Murakami, Daisuke Hori, Kenji Gonda, Masaharu Tsubokura and Takahiro Tabuchi
Cancers 2024, 16(9), 1783; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16091783 - 5 May 2024
Viewed by 2403
Abstract
There is limited information on whether the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with decreased breast cancer screening uptake and if COVID-19 vaccination was associated with an increase in screening uptake. Our study explored the uptake of breast cancer screening in Japan after the COVID-19 [...] Read more.
There is limited information on whether the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with decreased breast cancer screening uptake and if COVID-19 vaccination was associated with an increase in screening uptake. Our study explored the uptake of breast cancer screening in Japan after the COVID-19 pandemic and assessed its association with the COVID-19 vaccination. We analyzed data from the Japan COVID-19 and Society Internet Survey (JACSIS), a web-based prospective cohort survey, and we included 6110 women without cancer history who were aged 40 to 74 years that participated in the 2012 and 2022 surveys. We examined the regular breast cancer screening uptake before and after the pandemic and employed a multivariable Poisson regression model to seek any association between COVID-19 vaccination and screening uptake. Of 6110, 38.2% regularly participated in screening before the pandemic and 46.9% did so after the pandemic. Individuals unvaccinated due to health reasons (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.29–0.77, p = 0.003) and for other reasons (IRR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.62–0.86, p < 0.001) were less likely to undergo screening compared to fully vaccinated individuals. There was no long-term decrease in breast cancer screening uptake after the pandemic in Japan. Vaccination was linked to increased uptake, but there was no dose relationship. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How COVID-19 Affects Cancer Patients)
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7 pages, 513 KiB  
Communication
COVID-19 and Cancer Detection in Russia
by Andrey Sudarikov
Cancers 2024, 16(9), 1673; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16091673 - 26 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1495
Abstract
Overdiagnosis, associated with mass testing in healthy populations, is a significant issue for breast, prostate, renal, and thyroid cancers. During the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the intensity of cancer screening was expected to go down. In this study, we analyzed the [...] Read more.
Overdiagnosis, associated with mass testing in healthy populations, is a significant issue for breast, prostate, renal, and thyroid cancers. During the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the intensity of cancer screening was expected to go down. In this study, we analyzed the impact of the expected reduction in screening intensity on morbidity and mortality from certain malignancies. Cumulative data from the Russian National Cancer Registry available from 2000 to 2022 were analyzed. It was noted that there has been no noticeable effect of the COVID-19 lockdowns on mortality rates from breast, prostate, renal, or thyroid cancers. At the same time, the detectable incidence decreased markedly in 2020 at the time of the lockdowns and then returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022. At the moment, there is no sufficient reason to believe that skipping screening tests in 2020 could have any impact on breast, prostate, renal, or thyroid cancer mortality two years later (2022). The data presented further confirm that the overdiagnosis of these types of malignancies is caused by widespread screening among a generally healthy population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How COVID-19 Affects Cancer Patients)
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12 pages, 1182 KiB  
Article
Association of COVID-19 and Lung Cancer: Short-Term and Long-Term Interactions
by Ying-Long Peng, Zi-Yan Wang, Ri-Wei Zhong, Shi-Qi Mei, Jia-Qi Liu, Li-Bo Tang, Zhi Guo, Zi-Rui Ren, Lv Wu, Yu Deng, Zhi-Hong Chen, Qing Zhou and Chong-Rui Xu
Cancers 2024, 16(2), 304; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16020304 - 11 Jan 2024
Viewed by 2716
Abstract
Background: COVID-19 has been ravaging the globe for more than three years. Due to systemic immunosuppression of anti-tumor therapy, application of chemotherapy and adverse effects of surgery, the short- and long-term prognosis of cancer patients to COVID-19 are of significant concern. Method [...] Read more.
Background: COVID-19 has been ravaging the globe for more than three years. Due to systemic immunosuppression of anti-tumor therapy, application of chemotherapy and adverse effects of surgery, the short- and long-term prognosis of cancer patients to COVID-19 are of significant concern. Method: This research included three parts of data. The first part of the data came from the public database that covered Veneto residents. The second part of the data included participants in Guangzhou. The third part of the data was used for MR analysis. We assessed the associations by logistic, linear or Cox regression when appropriate. Result: Lung cancer patients with COVID-19 had shorter progression-free survival (PFS) after COVID-19 (Model II: HR: 3.28, 95% CI: 1.6~6.72; Model III: HR: 3.39, 95% CI: 1.45~7.95), compared with lung cancer patients without COVID-19. Targeted therapy patients recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection more quickly (Model I: β: −0.58, 95% CI: −0.75~−0.41; Model II: β: −0.59, 95% CI: −0.76~−0.41; Model III: β: −0.57; 95% CI: −0.75~−0.40). Conclusions: PFS in lung cancer patients is shortened by COVID-19. The outcome of COVID-19 in lung cancer patients was not significantly different from that of the healthy population. In lung cancer patients, targeted therapy patients had a better outcome of COVID-19, while chemotherapy patients had the worst. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How COVID-19 Affects Cancer Patients)
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13 pages, 1453 KiB  
Article
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cancer Mortality in Pennsylvania: A Retrospective Study with Geospatial Analysis
by Savanna G. Ledford, Fritz Kessler, Jennifer L. Moss, Ming Wang and Eugene J. Lengerich
Cancers 2023, 15(19), 4788; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15194788 - 29 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1549
Abstract
Background. We sought to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer mortality and identify associated factors in Pennsylvania. Methods. The retrospective study analyzed cross-sectional cancer mortality data from CDC WONDER for 2015 through 2020 for Pennsylvania and its 67 counties. The [...] Read more.
Background. We sought to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer mortality and identify associated factors in Pennsylvania. Methods. The retrospective study analyzed cross-sectional cancer mortality data from CDC WONDER for 2015 through 2020 for Pennsylvania and its 67 counties. The spatial distributions of 2019, 2020, and percentage change in age-adjusted mortality rates by county were analyzed via choropleth maps and spatial autocorrelation. A Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was used to analyze whether the rates differed between 2019 and 2020. Quasi-Poisson and geographically weighted regression at the county level were used to assess the association between the 2019 rates, sex (percent female), race (percent non-White), ethnicity (percent Hispanic/Latino), rural–urban continuum codes, and socioeconomic status with the 2020 rates. Results. At the state level, the rate in 2020 did not reflect the declining annual trend (−2.7 per 100,000) in the rate since 2015. Twenty-six counties had an increase in the rate in 2020. Of the factors examined, the 2019 rates were positively associated with the 2020 rates, and the impact of sociodemographic and geographic factors on the 2020 rates varied by county. Conclusions. In Pennsylvania, the 2020 cancer mortality rates did not decline as much as reported before the COVID-19 pandemic. The top five cancer types by rate were the same type for 2019 and 2020. Future cancer control efforts may need to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trends and geospatial distribution in cancer mortality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How COVID-19 Affects Cancer Patients)
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13 pages, 995 KiB  
Article
Outcomes of Liver Cancer Patients Undergoing Elective Surgery after Recovering from Mild SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Infection: A Retrospective Cohort Study
by Yizhou Wang, Junyong Ma, Yali Wu, Shichao Zhang, Xifeng Li, Yong Xia, Zhenlin Yan, Jian Liu, Feng Shen and Xiaofeng Zhang
Cancers 2023, 15(17), 4254; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15174254 - 25 Aug 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1318
Abstract
With the emergence of new virus variants, limited data are available on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection on surgery outcomes in cancer patients who have been widely vaccinated. This study aimed to determine whether undergoing hepatectomy poses a higher risk of postoperative [...] Read more.
With the emergence of new virus variants, limited data are available on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection on surgery outcomes in cancer patients who have been widely vaccinated. This study aimed to determine whether undergoing hepatectomy poses a higher risk of postoperative complications for liver cancer patients who have had mild Omicron infection before surgery. A propensity-matched cohort study was conducted at a tertiary liver center from 8 October 2022 to 13 January 2023. In total, 238 liver cancer patients who underwent hepatectomy were included, with 57 (23.9%) recovering from preoperative SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection and 190 (79.8%) receiving COVID-19 vaccination. Pre- and post-matching, there was no significant difference in the occurrence of postoperative outcomes between preoperative COVID-19 recovered patients and COVID-19 negative patients. Multivariate logistic regression showed that the COVID-19 status was not associated with postoperative major pulmonary and cardiac complications. However, preexisting comorbidities (odds ratio [OR], 4.645; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.295–16.667), laparotomy (OR, 10.572; 95% CI, 1.220–91.585), and COVID-19 unvaccinated (OR, 5.408; 95% CI, 1.489–19.633) had increased odds of major complications related to SARS-CoV-2 infection. In conclusion, liver cancer patients who have recovered from preoperative COVID-19 do not face an increased risk of postoperative complications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue How COVID-19 Affects Cancer Patients)
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