Background The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic led to a 2-month lockdown in Europe. Elective surgeries, including skin cancer excisions, were postponed. The purpose of this prospective case-control study was to assess the impact of the treatment delay on patients with non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) or melanoma operated in the first post-lockdown period. Methods A comparative study of skin cancer operations performed in a 4-month period either in 2020 or in 2019 was conducted. All data were collected from a prospectively maintained clinic database and the pathological reports. Continuous variables were compared with t test or Mann-Whitney U test according to their distribution. Categorical variables were compared with Fisher exact test. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was used to assess the risk of excising high-risk NMSC in 2020 compared with 2019. Results Skin cancer excision was performed in 158 cases in 2020 compared to 125 cases in 2019 (26.4% increase). Significantly, more SCC were excised in 2020 ( p = 0.024). No significant difference for several clinical parameters regarding BCC, SCC, and melanoma was identified. However, the reconstructive method applied, following NMSC excision, was significantly different, requiring frequently either skin grafting or a flap. Conclusion These results indicate that skin cancer treatment delay, due to COVID-19 pandemic, is related to an increased incidence of SCC and more complicated methods of reconstruction. Considering the relapsing COVID-19 waves, significant skin cancer treatment delays should be avoided. Trial registration The study adhered to the STROBE statement for case-control studies.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, Melanoma, skin cancer, Squamous cell carcinoma, 【초록키워드】 Treatment, Europe, lockdown, COVID-19 pandemic, Cancer, risk, database, outbreak, Patient, incidence, distribution, cancer treatment, case-control study, case-control studies, significant difference, 95% CI, 95% confidence interval, STROBE, Mann-Whitney U test, Fisher exact test, clinical parameter, Elective, categorical variable, continuous variable, Result, performed, was used, collected, significantly, conducted, applied, was performed, flap, relapsing, SCC, skin grafting, 【제목키워드】 Treatment, Cancer, case-control study,