The Impact of COVID-19 on New Kidney Cancer Diagnosis: Stage and Treatment in Northern Italy

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on new renal carcinoma (RC) diagnoses using data from the Reggio Emilia Cancer Registry in 2018–2020. A total of 293 RCs were registered, with roughly 100 cases yearly. The distribution by age shows a significant decrease in the 30–59 age group (33.7% in 2018, 24.8% in 2019, and 19.8% in 2020). The incidence of Stage I was 59.4%, 46.5%, and 58.2% in 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively, whereas the Stage II rate had values of 6.9%, 7.9%, and 2.2% in the years 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. Slight non-significant variations were observed in Stages III and IV. Surgery was performed in 83.2% of cases in 2018, 78.2% in 2019, and 82.4% in 2020; the surgery distribution by stage showed no significant differences. Chemotherapy showed an increase in 2020, which was statistically significant only for Stage IV. The gender incidence trends over the last 25 years showed an increase in the male sex in the first period; then, a decline was documented, likely due to a decrease in cigarette consumption. In females, the trend was constant. The RC mortality trend significantly dropped in both genders over the entire study period.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on renal cancer care

“…These results are in line with the results of a small cohort study from Italy. They reported a decrease of 10% in the number of RCC diagnoses in 2020 compared to 2018–2019 ( N ~ 91 vs. 101), without evidence of a short-term trend towards advanced stage tumors in 2020 [ 16 ]. Our hypothesis is that part of the patients who formerly had an incidentally detected renal tumor did not seek medical attention once their complaints/symptoms became self-limiting and they no longer required a visit to a health-care provider.…”