Impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the diagnosis and treatment of malignant neoplasms in uterine cervical cancer: a brazilian retrospective study

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Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has represented a crisis in healthcare systems. The impact of its effects on the diagnosis and treatment of incident malignancies, such as cervical cancer, can be evidenced in metrics. Materials and methods: In this cohort, we carried out a retrospective and quantitative comparative analysis of time series, between 2014 and 2022, with the total data of diagnoses and hysterectomies performed for the treatment of malignant cervical neoplasms, through the Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System (DATASUS). Results: From 2014 to 2022, Brazil recorded 173,300 cases of malignant cervical neoplasms. Increasing trends in the number of annual diagnoses were examined, with a decrease in the pattern between 2019 and 2020, coinciding with the pandemic period. Similarly, the total number of hysterectomies, the main treatment for cervical cancer, was affected. Between 2014 and 2019, an average of 53,652 surgeries were performed annually. However, in 2020 it fell to 30,698 (40.2%) interventions compared to 2019. Conclusion: In the period from 2019 to 2020, there were substantial reductions in the number of procedures coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the data suggest a delay in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of cervical neoplasms, impacting relevant clinical outcomes and overall survival.