PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - GIANLUCA VANNI
AU  - MARCO PELLICCIARO
AU  - FRANCESCA COMBI
AU  - SIMONA PAPI
AU  - MARCO MATERAZZO
AU  - SILVIA SEGATTINI
AU  - STEFANO RIZZA
AU  - MARCELLO CHIOCCHI
AU  - TOMMASO PERRETTA
AU  - ROSARIA MEUCCI
AU  - ILARIA PORTARENA
AU  - CHIARA ADRIANA PISTOLESE
AU  - BENEDETTO IELPO
AU  - MICHELA CAMPANELLI
AU  - GIORGIO LISI
AU  - AGOSTINO CHIARAVALLOTI
AU  - GIOVANNI TAZZIOLI
AU  - ORESTE CLAUDIO BUONOMO
TI  - Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Surgical Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Neoadjuvant Therapy: A Multicentric Study
AID  - 10.21873/anticanres.15265
DP  - 2021 Sep 01
TA  - Anticancer Research
PG  - 4535--4542
VI  - 41
IP  - 9
4099  - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/41/9/4535.short
4100  - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/41/9/4535.full
SO  - Anticancer Res2021 Sep 01; 41
AB  - Background/Aim: Due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, many scientific committees proposed neoadjuvant therapy (NACT) bridging treatment as a novel strategy and indication. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on breast cancer patients undergoing NACT. Patients and Methods: All breast cancer patients referred to two Breast Units during COVID-19-pandemic were enrolled. Results: Out of 814 patients, 43(5.3%) were enrolled in the COVID-19-group and compared with 94 (7.9%) similar Pre-COVID-19 patients. We observed a reduction in the number of patients undergoing NACT, p=0.0019. No difference was reported in terms of clinical presentation, indications, and tumor response. In contrast, a higher number of vascular adverse events was reported (6.9% vs. 0% p=0.029). Immediate breast cancer reconstructions following invasive surgery suffered a significant slowdown (5.9% vs. 47.7%, p=0.019). Conclusion: COVID-19 caused a reduction in the number of patients undergoing NACT, with no changes in terms of indications, clinical presentation, and tumor response. Furthermore, there was an increased incidence of vascular events.