CovidNeuroOnc: A UK multicenter, prospective cohort study of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the neuro-oncology service.



Fountain, Daniel M ORCID: 0000-0001-6227-9930, Piper, Rory J ORCID: 0000-0002-6422-5853, Poon, Michael TC, Solomou, Georgios ORCID: 0000-0002-9795-0517, Brennan, Paul M ORCID: 0000-0002-7347-830X, Chowdhury, Yasir A, Colombo, Francesca ORCID: 0000-0002-2018-7779, Elmoslemany, Tarek ORCID: 0000-0003-3619-7581, Ewbank, Frederick G, Grundy, Paul L
et al (show 21 more authors) (2021) CovidNeuroOnc: A UK multicenter, prospective cohort study of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the neuro-oncology service. Neuro-oncology advances, 3 (1). vdab014-.

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Abstract

<h4>Background</h4>The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected cancer services. Our objective was to determine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on decision making and the resulting outcomes for patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent intracranial tumors.<h4>Methods</h4>We performed a multicenter prospective study of all adult patients discussed in weekly neuro-oncology and skull base multidisciplinary team meetings who had a newly diagnosed or recurrent intracranial (excluding pituitary) tumor between 01 April and 31 May 2020. All patients had at least 30-day follow-up data. Descriptive statistical reporting was used.<h4>Results</h4>There were 1357 referrals for newly diagnosed or recurrent intracranial tumors across 15 neuro-oncology centers. Of centers with all intracranial tumors, a change in initial management was reported in 8.6% of cases (<i>n</i> = 104/1210). Decisions to change the management plan reduced over time from a peak of 19% referrals at the start of the study to 0% by the end of the study period. Changes in management were reported in 16% (<i>n</i> = 75/466) of cases previously recommended for surgery and 28% of cases previously recommended for chemotherapy (<i>n</i> = 20/72). The reported SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was similar in surgical and non-surgical patients (2.6% vs. 2.4%, <i>P</i> > .9).<h4>Conclusions</h4>Disruption to neuro-oncology services in the UK caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was most marked in the first month, affecting all diagnoses. Patients considered for chemotherapy were most affected. In those recommended surgical treatment this was successfully completed. Longer-term outcome data will evaluate oncological treatments received by these patients and overall survival.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: British Neurosurgical Trainee Research Collaborative (BNTRC)
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 09 Jun 2021 08:58
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 22:35
DOI: 10.1093/noajnl/vdab014
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3125625