Analysis of the treatment patterns and safety of early breast cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Feng Li, Fengrui Xu, Huiqiang Zhang, Jianbin Li, Tao Wang, Shaohua Zhang, Li Bian, Xiaopeng Hao, Zefei Jiang
2020 Translational Breast Cancer Research  
An analysis of the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the patterns of treatment and the safety for patients with early breast cancer (EBC). Methods: This was an observational real-world study. A total of 958 EBC patients who were admitted to two groups during the epidemic (Observation group: Q1 in 2020, n=422) and the similar time frame from last year (Control group: Q1 in 2019, n=536). The primary end point of the study was the overall safety of treatments, including the
more » ... rtion of neutropenia, fever, infection and infection of COVID-19. The secondary end point is the treatment patterns, referring to different treatment methods and the proportion of different regimens. Results: Under the guidance of specific treatment strategies, the patient's treatment patterns have changed significantly. Among them, the proportion of albumin paclitaxel in the observation group was significantly increased (55.8% vs. 13.0%, P<0.001) compared with the control group, and the proportion of docetaxel was significantly reduced (30.4% vs. 70.1%, P<0.001). The proportion of anthracycline drugs and vinorelbine decreased (both P<0.05). In the observation group, 22.5% of patients had neutropenia, which was significantly lower than the control group (22.5% vs. 50.6%, P<0.05), and the incidence of fever in the observation group was lower than that of the control group (P=0.05). Conclusions: The patient's treatment patterns were significantly changed during COVID-19 pandemic, and optimized treatment strategy is suitable for breast cancer patients that can ensure the patient's treatment needs and overall safety. of the treatment patterns and safety of early breast cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Transl Breast Cancer Res 2020;1:15.
doi:10.21037/tbcr-20-29 fatcat:od32j3fisrabpcl36ckrmypjjm