Examining the Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Melanoma Diagnoses, Treatment, Outcomes
Source: Dermatology Advisor, October 2023
Patients diagnosed with melanoma in 2020 presented with thicker, more ulcerated, and more advanced tumors despite reduced treatment delays, according to study results published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Researchers conducted a large nationwide retrospective cohort study to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cutaneous melanoma presentation, treatment, and survival. Patients diagnosed with invasive melanoma from 2018 to 2020 were included in the analysis. Data were sourced from the November 2022 submission of the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Results 17 (SEER-17) database.
The researchers developed a stepwise multivariable logistic regression model of factors associated with the diagnosis of melanoma in 2020 compared with in 2018 and 2019. A total of 60,018 patients with melanoma were included. In an adjusted analysis, the researchers found that the majority of newly diagnosed patients in 2020 were of advanced age, with 40% between the ages of 65 and 79, and 15.4% being older (>80 years; odds ratio [OR], 1.128; 95% CI, 1.062-1.197; P <.0001). Furthermore, 89.7% of patients were non-Hispanic White, 64.32% had a median household income greater than $75,000 (OR, 1.348; 95% CI, 1.288-1.410; P <.0001), and 56.39% resided in metropolitan areas with a population exceeding 1 million (OR, 1.198; 95% CI, 1.147-1.252; P <.0001).