Comparison of renal cell cancer surgery during Covid-19 pandemic with
prepandemic period, Turkey multicenter study
Abstract
Aim COVID-19 pandemic changed the priorities in medical field. Many
elective surgeries for renal cell cancers (RCC) have been postponed. In
this study, we aimed to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on
the surgical treatment of RCC in Turkey. Methods 457 patients that
underwent surgery for kidney tumor in the 2-year period between March 1,
2019 and February 28, 2021 in 9 centers in Turkey were analyzed
retrospectively. Results The number of surgical treatments for RCC
during the COVID-19 pandemic has decreased significantly compared to the
same period before COVID-19. No significant differences were found
between the two periods in terms of admission symptoms (p=0.32).
However, while the rate of application due to hematuria was 6.1% in the
pre-COVID-19 period, it was 13.1% during the COVID-19 period. Despite
not being significant, this difference was still proportional. Two study
periods differed significantly in terms of the rate of metastatic RCC
detected in preoperative imaging (13.1% vs 6.1%, during COVID-19 and
pre-COVID-19, respectively) (p=0.01). Moreover, the study periods
differed significantly in terms of time between imaging and operation
(55.98±51.02 vs 40.30±34.9 days, during COVID-19 and pre-COVID-19,
respectively) (p=0.01). However, there was no significant difference
between the two periods in terms of tumor size, type of surgery, and
pathological stage (p>0.05). Conclusion There was a
significant decrease in the number of RCC-related surgeries over 1-year
period during the pandemic. However, the rate of surgery for metastatic
disease increased. Covid-19 is a pandemic that continues to affect the
whole world. Oncological diseases are negative affected in this process
in terms of early diagnosis and treatment.