Delays in melanoma presentation during the COVID-19 pandemic: A nationwide multi-institutional cohort study

Trepanowski, Nicole; Chang, Michael S.; Zhou, Guohai; Ahmad, Maham; Berry, Elizabeth; Bui, Katherine; Butler, W. H.; Chu, Emily Y.; Curiel‐Lewandrowski, Clara; Dellalana, Laura E.; Ellis, Darrel L.; Freeman, S. Caleb; Gorrepati, Pavane L.; Grossman, Douglas; Gyurdzhyan, Samvel; Kanetsky, Peter A.; King, A.O.; Kolla, Avani; Lian, Christine G.; Lin, Jennifer Y.; Liu, Vincent; Lowenthal, Annie; McCoy, Kelly N; Munjal, Ananya; Myrdal, Caitlyn N; Perkins, Sara; Powers, Jennifer G.; Rauck, Corinne; Smart, Tristan C; Stein, Jennifer A.; Venna, Suraj; Walsh, Madalyn E; Wang, Jennifer Y.; Leachman, Sancy A.; Swetter, Susan M.; Hartman, Rebecca I.

doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2022.06.031

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Trepanowski et al compared the melanoma cases in the US in the pre-COVID-19 period (1 March 2019–29 February 2020) to the COVID-19 period (1 March 2020–28 February 2021) and they reported 1834 cases in the COVID-19 period and 2062 melanoma cases pre-COVID-19, with a higher relative frequency in the COVID-19 period: stage II (18.3% vs. 14.8%), stage IV (6.1% vs. 4.6%). Moreover, the thickness, number of mitoses and the proportion of nodular subtypes were increased during the COVID-19 period [ 19 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Melanoma Diagnosis in Romania—Data from Two University Centers

Ungureanu

Apostu

Vesa

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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The COVID-19 pandemic affected the healthcare system in our country and led non-COVID patients to postpone medical visits that were not urgent. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic on the trends in melanoma diagnosis and to compare the pathological characteristics of melanoma patients before and during the pandemic. The number of primary cutaneous melanomas diagnosed each month between 1st March 2019 and 29th February 2020 (pre-COVID-19) and between 1st March 2020 and 28th February 2021 (COVID-19) in the North-Western Region of Romania (Cluj and Bihor counties) was determined. The pathological characteristics of melanomas diagnosed in the two intervals were compared. The number of melanoma diagnoses substantially decreased during the pandemic, with 66 (−19.3%) fewer cutaneous melanomas being diagnosed in the first year of the pandemic when compared with the previous year. The tumor thickness and mitotic rate were significantly higher in cases found during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study suggests that COVID-19 has delayed diagnosis in patients with melanoma, leading to the detection of thicker melanomas that may increase morbidity and mortality. Further studies are needed to determine the consequences of this delay on outcomes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Melanoma Diagnosis in Romania—Data from Two University Centers

Ungureanu

Apostu

Vesa

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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“…We identified five studies analyzing changes in the mean Breslow thickness of melanoma diagnoses since declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. 5,[7][8][9][10] The number of patients included in these studies varied, ranging from 373 to 3,896 (median 592).…”

Section: Mean Breslow Thicknessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on melanoma diagnosis and presentation: a `review

2023

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The ongoing challenges posed by COVID‐19 are concerning for their impact on successful detection and recognition of melanoma as total body skin examinations and skin biopsies are critical for identifying early‐stage melanoma and intervening before progression to metastatic disease. A comprehensive electronic search of PubMed/MEDLINE was conducted on or before August 1, 2022, using the search terms (“skin” AND “COVID‐19”), ([“skin cancer” AND “COVID‐19”] OR [“skin cancer” AND “coronavirus”]), ([“melanoma” AND “COVID‐19”] OR [“melanoma” AND “coronavirus”]), (“dermatology” AND “COVID‐19”), and (“cutaneous” AND “COVID‐19”). Eight articles representing Belgium, Chile, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States were included. Four articles analyzed changes in the proportion of in situ melanoma at diagnosis and consistently reported decreases, with an overall decrease ranging from 7.6 to 40.4%. Five studies analyzed changes in the proportion of melanoma diagnoses by staging, but no clear changes in staging patterns were observed. Five studies analyzed changes in the mean Breslow thickness of melanoma diagnoses and consistently reported increases, with an overall increase ranging from 4.0 to 38%. Disruptions to proper diagnosis and treatment of melanoma are creating undue morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs as the pandemic continues. Continued research with improved, centralized data collection is needed to better address the COVID‐19 pandemic's ongoing challenge to appropriate detection and treatment of melanoma.

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“…The practice of TD has evolved, given the improvement in technology, especially mobile devices [ 9 , 10 ] and particularly due to the current COVID-19 pandemic [ 6 , 11 , 12 ], but it had a negative impact on the early diagnosis and treatment of oncological disease [ 13 ]. Spain is among the leaders in European countries in active TD programs, with 25% of hospital services with some type of TD implemented in the consultation in 2014 [ 14 ], although there is still a long way to go as in the field of TD many innovative applications appear every year, with an increase expected in the future [ 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patients’ Experiences and Communication with Teledermatology versus Face-to-Face Dermatology

Costa

López-Villegas

Pérez-Heredia

et al. 2022

JCM

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(1) Background: Teledermatology (TD) has exponentially grown since the onset of COVID-19, as the Face-to-Face Dermatology (F-F/D) modality changed within Public Health Systems. Although studies have been conducted on health results, we did not find any that analyzed the experiences of individuals who received care through TD. Therefore, the main objective of the study was to analyze the experiences of dermatology patients and the communication with health personnel. (2) Methods: A multicenter, controlled, randomized, non-blinded clinical trial was designed. Data were collected during the six months of follow-up. Four-hundred and fifty patients participated in the present study, who were assigned to two different groups: TD and F-F/D. The sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the participants were collected. The ‘Generic Short Patient Experiences Questionnaire’ (GS-PEQ) was used to assess patients’ experiences, and the Healthcare Communication Questionnaire (HCCQ) was used to measure the communication of patients with healthcare professionals. (3) Results: After six months of follow-up, 450 patients completed the study (TD = 225; F-F/D = 225) of which 53.3% were women, with an average age of 52.16 (SD = 19.97). The main reasons for the consultations were skin lesions (51.56%) located on the head and neck (46.8%), followed by the legs (20.7%). According to the GS-PEQ, TD users indicated having a greater confidence in the professional skills of the doctors (p < 0.01). However, the F-F/D group indicated having received more adequate information about their diagnosis/afflictions (p < 0.01), were more involved in the decisions related to their treatment (p < 0.01), and more satisfied with the help and treatment received (p < 0.01). Regarding the HCCQ, the TD group obtained better assessments with respect to if the patients had been treated in a rude and hasty manner, if the health professionals had addressed them with a smile, and if these could adequately manage the reason for the consultation (p < 0.01). (4) Conclusions: The results of the study generally showed positive experiences and communication. The TD group indicated having received less information about the diagnosis, were less involved in the decisions, and were less satisfied with the help and treatment received. However, they indicated having more confidence on the professional skills of the doctors, and that the work at the institution was better organized. In addition, they perceived better communication skills of the health professionals, although less respect for their privacy.

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Delays in melanoma presentation during the COVID-19 pandemic: A nationwide multi-institutional cohort study

Cited by 13 publications

References 5 publications

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Melanoma Diagnosis in Romania—Data from Two University Centers

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Melanoma Diagnosis in Romania—Data from Two University Centers

Impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on melanoma diagnosis and presentation: a `review

Patients’ Experiences and Communication with Teledermatology versus Face-to-Face Dermatology

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