Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Impact of the COVID-19 Prioritization Recommendations on Pathological Stages of Urologic Malignancies. A Real-World Analysis at a High-Volume Referral Institution

Antonio Andrea Grosso
* ORCID logo ,
Riccardo Campi
ORCID logo ,
Fabrizio Di Maida
,
Alessio Pecoraro
,
Francesco Lupo Conte
,
Vincenzo Cangemi
,
Rossella Catanzaro
,
Neliana Kucuku
,
Nassima Doumit
,
Andrea Mari
,
Lorenzo Masieri
,
Sergio Serni
,
Andrea Minervini
ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 11 September 2024 / Approved: 12 September 2024 / Online: 12 September 2024 (11:38:06 CEST)

How to cite: Grosso, A. A.; Campi, R.; Di Maida, F.; Pecoraro, A.; Conte, F. L.; Cangemi, V.; Catanzaro, R.; Kucuku, N.; Doumit, N.; Mari, A.; Masieri, L.; Serni, S.; Minervini, A. Impact of the COVID-19 Prioritization Recommendations on Pathological Stages of Urologic Malignancies. A Real-World Analysis at a High-Volume Referral Institution. Preprints 2024, 2024090978. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0978.v1 Grosso, A. A.; Campi, R.; Di Maida, F.; Pecoraro, A.; Conte, F. L.; Cangemi, V.; Catanzaro, R.; Kucuku, N.; Doumit, N.; Mari, A.; Masieri, L.; Serni, S.; Minervini, A. Impact of the COVID-19 Prioritization Recommendations on Pathological Stages of Urologic Malignancies. A Real-World Analysis at a High-Volume Referral Institution. Preprints 2024, 2024090978. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.0978.v1

Abstract

Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Association of Urology (EAU) Guidelines defined priority groups to guide the prioritization of surgery for urological malignancies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 prioritization recommendations on tumor pathological characteristics in a real-world setting at our academic referral Institution. Methods: We compared baseline and pathological tumor features of all patients with urological malignancies treated during the pandemic period (2020-2021) versus in the post-pandemic period (2022-2023). Our institution adhered to the International recommendations and prioritized those cases defined as “high-risk”. Results: Data of 9196 patients treated for urological malignancies were reviewed and grouped according to period of surgery (4401 in the pandemic vs 4785 in non-pandemic period). The overall number of surgical procedures was comparable for all diseases except for the number of radical prostatectomy (1117 vs 1405; p=0.03) and partial nephrectomy (609 vs 759; p=0.02) which were significantly lower in the pandemic period. Regarding tumors’ pathological features, none of the recorded variable was found to differ according to period of surgery, including disease stage, tumor grading, presence of necrosis, lymphovascular invasion, histological variants. Conclusion: A correct policy of prioritization of oncological pathologies during emergency periods and a centralization of oncological cases in reference centers reduces the possible risk of worsening cancer disease features related to the reorganization of healthcare resources.

Keywords

Oncology; COVID-19; Pandemic; Healthcare

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Urology and Nephrology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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