Breast Cancer and COVID-19: Challenges in Surgical Management

TLDR: In this paper , the authors discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on several aspects of breast cancer management, and the subsequent modifications adopted by clinicians, scientific groups, and governments as a response to the novel conditions.

Abstract: Simple Summary The COVID-19 pandemic imposed serious strain on healthcare services and patient management, affecting almost every medical field. Cancer patients underwent and are still facing major modifications and turbulences with regard to their therapeutic courses, with the medical community awkwardly balancing the disease’s menacing nature and their increased vulnerability to novel infection. As the cancer with the highest incidence and prevalence, breast-cancer patients and caregivers were widely affected by the healthcare crisis in multiple domains and ways, leading to rapid adjustments in response, maintaining one aim: to provide safe and uninterrupted cancer care regardless of the resource and communication shortages. This review summarizes the challenges in breast-cancer management and the subsequent alterations in clinical practice. The reflexes and adaptability of the medical community under this massive pressure provide a glimmer of optimism, but the impact of these forced changes and their contribution to this goal still need to be evaluated. Abstract The harsh healthcare reality imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in wide clinical practice alterations, postponements, and shortages, affecting both patients and caregivers. Breast-cancer management, from diagnosis to treatment and follow up, was a field that did not escape such changes, facing a challenging set of obstacles in order to maintain adequate cancer care services while diminishing viral spread among patients and personnel. In this review article, we discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on several aspects of breast-cancer management, and the subsequent modifications adopted by clinicians, scientific groups, and governments as a response to the novel conditions. Screening and diagnosis, as well as breast-cancer treatment paths—especially surgical interventions—were the most affected domains, while patients’ psychological burden also emerged as a notable consequence. The aftermath of diagnostic and surgical delays is yet to be assessed, while the treatment alterations and the introduction of new therapeutic schemes might signify the opening of a novel era in breast-cancer management.