Onkológia 3/2022

COVID-19 and breast cancer

Worldwide, the breast cancer (BC) remains one of the malignancies with the highest rates of incidence and prevalence. During the COVID-19 pandemic, BC was the most common type of malignancy in the EU and North American countries. A significant decrease in the indication of screening imaging examinations, reduction in the number of biopsies and a delay in the necessary surgical treatment are likely to have an impact on the morbidity and mortality of patients diagnosed with BC. From the point of view of a serious clinical course of infection and subsequent death, BC belongs to the group of oncological diagnoses with lower risk. The publication summarizes our own experience with the treatment of BC in the St. Elizabeth Cancer Institute in Bratislava, as well as international recommendations for the treatment of BC during pandemics.

Keywords: breast cancer, COVID-19, pandemics, treatment recommendations