Indirect Impact of Pandemic on the Diagnosis of New Primary Melanoma: A Retrospective, Multicenter Study
<b>Background/Objectives</b>: The indirect impact of the pandemic on the diagnosis and treatment of new primary melanoma has been carefully evaluated in recent years. The aim of the present study was to investigate if the indirect impact of the pandemic in Italy could be detectable also in the second year of the pandemic, as suggested by the characteristics of melanoma at diagnosis. <b>Methods</b>: Retrospective analysis of 1640 diagnoses of cutaneous melanoma in pre-pandemic period and 1292 diagnoses in the pandemic period from 10 centers (from 1 March 2019 to 28 February 2022). <b>Results</b>: Our findings confirmed an indirect impact of the pandemic on characteristics of incident melanoma, also in the second year of the pandemic in Italy (Breslow thickness <i>p</i> < 0.0001, tumor stage <i>p</i> = 0.002, ulceration <i>p</i> = 0.04, SNLB <i>p</i> = 0.03), without statistically significant differences between centers. A statistically significant reduction in the time interval from diagnosis to surgical treatment was observed, but only in centers that had to modify their case mix to address the needs of treating COVID-19 patients (<i>p</i> = 0.0002). <b>Conclusions</b>: Our study confirmed the indirect impact of the pandemic on melanoma characteristics at the diagnosis in the second year of the pandemic in Italy. We also found no differences in melanoma characteristics between hospitals with different organization. Diagnostic delays may be related to a delayed access of the patient to the entire diagnostic pathway, and therefore, especially in the case of a pandemic, policies to support early diagnosis are crucial.
Authors
- Stefano Guadagni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8525-084X)
- Dario Piazzalunga
- Corrado Caracò (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7828-079X)
- P Rossi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6523-636X)
- Amy Giarrizzo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9973-5135)
- Cosimo Di Raimondo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4691-9381)
- Luca Nespoli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4945-5677)
- Davide Ferrari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7058-5011)
- Matteo Mascherini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2036-8721)
- Franco Picciotto
- Francesco Cavallin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0831-3971)
- Lorenzo Borgognoni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3571-0366)
- Marco Clementi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9652-5148)
- Sara Coppola (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2795-0079)
- Salvatore Asero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8958-621X)
- Serena Sestini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7892-4444)
- Marco Rastrelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5405-6243)
- Pietro Gallina
- Paolo Del Fiore (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2862-8014)
- Francesco Russano
- Franco De Cian
- Irene Tucceri Cimini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7763-3357)
- Maria Gabriella Valente
- Elisabetta Pennacchioli
- Virginia Caliendo
Institutions
- Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (IT)
- University of Padua (IT)
- University of L'Aquila (IT)
- Azienda Ospedaliera Citta' della Salute e della Scienza di Torino (IT)
- Ospedale Garibaldi (IT)
- Ospedale Papa Giovanni XXIII (IT)
- Istituto Oncologico Veneto (IT)
- Azienda Ospedaliera San Gerardo (IT)
- Policlinico Tor Vergata (IT)
- Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS "Fondazione G. Pascale" (IT)
- Azienda di Rilievo Nazionale ed Alta Specializzazione (IT)
- Ospedale Policlinico San Martino (IT)
- Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IT)
- European Institute of Oncology (IT)
- University of Milano-Bicocca (IT)
- University of Genoa (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Clinical Medicine
- Published
- 2025-03-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14062017
- Primary Topic
- COVID-19 and healthcare impacts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Ministero della Salute
- Dipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca