Breast cancer in the Rio Grande Valley: Telemedicine as a solution in the disruption in breast cancer care during COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

e13578 Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted cancer care globally, posing challenges to the timely diagnosis and treatment of patients. Telemedicine emerged as a valuable tool for maintaining breast cancer care worldwide, with numerous studies demonstrating preserved patient satisfaction. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether the initial diagnosis of breast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic led to delays in the time to treatment. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted on patients evaluated for initial treatment at the DHR Health Breast Cancer Center of Excellence in Edinburg, Texas. The study included patients with a diagnosis of breast cancer between March 11, 2019, and March 10, 2021. Data were extracted from the electronic health records, encompassing medical history, laboratory results, radiological studies required for staging, transplant eligibility assessments, clinical characteristics, and treatments. The primary outcome was the time from diagnosis to treatment, including surgery and chemotherapy, which was compared between patients evaluated before (prepandemic group) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (pandemic group). Results: A total of 803 cases were reviewed, of which 493 patients with complete clinical data were included in the study. The prepandemic group consisted of 281 patients evaluated between March 11, 2019, and March 10, 2020, while the pandemic group included 212 patients seen between March 11, 2020, and March 10, 2021. All participants were female, with a median age of 59.7 ± 12.6 years. Of the total population, 85.4% identified as Hispanic/Latino. 56% of patients had localized disease, 32% presented with locoregional disease. Median time to any treatment initiation was statistically similar between the groups, 5.6 ± 21.6 vs 6.1 ± 19.2 days. (p. = 0.788). Conclusions: The comparable time to any treatment between pandemic and prepandemic patients suggests telemedicine can be a viable option for follow-up care. This approach has the potential to provide accessible healthcare to populations residing far from cancer centers. Sociodemographic data. PreCovid Covid Total P-Value (n=281) (n=212) (n=493) Age 59.3 ± 12.2 60.1 ± 13.1 59.7 ± 12.6 0.478* White 280 (99.6) 211 (99.5) 491 (99.6) 0.353** Hispanic/Latino 241 (85.8) 180 (84.9) 421 (85.4) 0.421** Local 159 (56.6) 117 (55.2) 276 (56.0) Regional 88 (31.3) 70 (33.0) 158 (32.0) Distant 16 (5.7) 14 (6.6) 30 (6.1) Days to any treatment 5.6 ± 21.6 6.1 ± 19.2 5.8 ± 20.6 0.788* Days to surgery 7.1 ± 31.5 8.6 ± 33.7 7.8 ± 32.4 0.619* Days to chemotherapy 92.1 ± 56.9 84.1 ± 53.2 88.6 ± 55.3 0.289* *Student's T test, **Chi square test.