Key Points Question What is the association between delays in treatment initiation for common cancers, as are necessary in resource-limited settings and pandemic conditions, with mortality? Findings In this cohort study including 2 241 706 patients with breast, prostate, non-small cell lung, and colon cancer, generally higher all-cause mortality was associated with increasing time to treatment, although the degree varied by cancer type and stage. Patients with colon and lung cancer had the highest mortality associated with increased time to treatment. Meaning These findings emphasize the importance of timely cancer treatment, and, in contrast to current pandemic-related guidelines, support more prompt definitive treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk prostate cancer.

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Physical examination (PE), mammography (MG), breast MRI, FDG-PET and pathologic evaluation are used to assess primary breast cancer. Their accuracy has not been well studied in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Accuracies of each modality in tumor and nodal assessment in patients with T3/4 tumors receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy were compared. METHODS-45 patients of a prospective clinical trial studying T3-T4M0 tumors were included. Patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy: docetaxel/carboplatin with or without trastuzumab before and/or after surgery (depending on HER-2/neu status and randomization). Tumor measurements by PE, MG, and MRI and nodal status by PE and PET were obtained before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Concordance among different clinical measurements was assessed and compared with the tumor and nodal staging by pathology. Spearman corr (r) and root mean square error (RMSE) were used to measure the accuracy of measurements among all modalities and between modalities and pathological tumor size. RESULTS-Comparing to the tumor size measured by PE, MRI was more accurate than MG at baseline (r 0.559, RMSE 35.4% vs. r 0.046, RMSE 66.1%). After neoadjuvant chemotherapy, PE correlated better with pathology than MG or MRI (r 0.655, RMSE 88.6% vs. r 0.146, RMSE 147.1% and r 0.364, RMSE 92.6%). Axillary nodal assessment after neoadjuvant chemotherapy showed high specificity but low sensitivity by PET and PE. CONCLUSION-Findings suggested that MRI was a more accurate imaging study at baseline for T3/T4 tumor and PE correlated best with pathology finding. PET and PE both correctly predicted positive axillary nodes but not negative nodes.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, surgical delays have been common for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and early-stage estrogen receptor-positive (ERþ) breast cancer, often in favor of neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET). To understand possible ramifications of these delays, we examined the association between time to operation and pathologic staging and overall survival (OS). STUDY DESIGN: Patients with DCIS or ERþ cT1-2N0 breast cancer treated from 2010 through 2016 were identified in the National Cancer Database. Time to operation was recorded. Factors associated with pathologic upstaging were examined using logistic regression analyses. Cox proportional hazard models were used to analyze OS. Analyses were stratified by disease stage and initial treatment strategy. RESULTS: There were 378,839 patients identified. Among those undergoing primary surgical procedure, time to operation was within 120 days in > 98% in all groups. Among cT1-2N0 patients selected for NET, operations were performed within 120 days in 59.6% of cT1N0 and 30.9% of cT2N0 patients. Increased time to operation was associated with increased odds of pathologic upstaging in DCIS patients (ERþ: 60 to 120 days: odds ratio 1.15; 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.22; more than 120 days: odds ratio 1.44; 95% CI, 1.24 to 1.68; ERe: 60 to 120 days: NS; more than 120 days: odds ratio 1.36; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.82; 60 days or less: reference), but not in patients with invasive cancer, irrespective of initial treatment strategy. No difference in OS was seen by time to operation in DCIS or NET patients. CONCLUSIONS: Increased time to operation was associated with a small increase in pathologic upstaging in DCIS patients, but did not impact OS. In patients with cT1-2N0 disease, NET use did not impact stage or OS, supporting the safety of delay strategies in ERþ breast cancer patients during the pandemic.