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PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify and categorize the delays and disruptions in breast cancer care and its impact on disease outcome during the first wave of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: Patients with newly diagnosed or relapsed breast cancer who were treated between May 2020 and March 2021 were evaluated. Patients who had experienced COVID-19 related delays in cancer diagnosis or treatment initiation and/or disruption in ongoing treatment were included for analysis. All delays in cancer diagnosis, surgery, or a delay/disruption in radiotherapy or systemic therapy for each patient were identified. The reasons for delays and disruptions were evaluated. Any modification (s) in ongoing treatment, failure to complete planned treatment, and the effect on disease status were noted. RESULTS: Of the 415 eligible patients with breast cancer, we identified 70 (15.5%) patients who experienced COVID-19-related delay in diagnosis, or a delay or disruption in cancer-directed therapy. Forty (57.1%) patients experienced delays in initiation of their breast cancer treatment and ongoing treatment was disrupted in 30 (42.9%) patients. Majority of the delays (17, 42.5%) and disruptions (17, 60%) were noted in chemotherapy. The median duration of treatment delays was 156 days (interquartile range [IQR] 82–209 days) and that of treatment disruptions was 90 days (IQR 48–261 days). Logistic constraints were responsible for majority of the delays and disruptions. Overall, 32 (45.7%) patients suffered cancer upstaging or progression. CONCLUSION: We observed significant rates of disease progression among patients with breast cancer who suffered treatment delays and disruptions during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is critical to identify and characterize these unprecedented delays and their impact to alienate them in the present and future surges, and to inform strategies to overcome the long-term oncological consequences of the pandemic.

BACKGROUND: There have been inconsistent results on the association of body mass index (BMI) with tumor characteristics, hormone, and menopausal status in breast cancer (BC) patients. OBJECTIVE: This study was intended to analyze the association of BMI with menopausal status, tumor characteristics, and hormone receptor status in BC patients. We also analyzed the significance of human epidermal growth factor type 2 receptor (HER-2)/neu status in association with menopausal status, tumor size, tumor grade, and nodal status in patients with BC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Histologically proven 188 patients of BC with IHC report were included in this study done over 1 year period. Demographic data, pathologic features, and biological receptor status of cases were collected from the patient's records. Chi-square/Fisher's exact test, independent t- and analysis of variance (ANOVA) test were adopted to explore whether BMI differed according to biological receptor status in pre- and post-menopausal women. RESULTS: BMI was found to be significantly associated with the menopausal status of patients (P = 0.02). However, BMI lacks significant association with tumor size, stage, grade, and lymph node status in both pre- and post-menopausal patients. Estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER-2/neu expression were found to have a statistically significant correlation with tumor size (P < 0.001). Statistically significant correlation was also observed between age at the time of diagnosis and HER-2/neu expression (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: This study revealed that BMI has a significant association with menopausal status. The frequency of expression of ER/PR was the same as reported in the literature; however, expression of HER-2/neu was high in postmenopausal women. Findings from this study may help to develop patient awareness of potentially modifiable lifestyle risk factors such as overweight and obesity as HER-2/neu positivity is associated with poor prognosis.

BACKGROUND: Survival for breast cancer (BC) patients has improved significantly because of better treatment availability. However, patients may experience side effects after the completion of the treatment, which consequently affect their quality of life (QoL). The present study was planned to assess the QoL of BC patients after the completion of treatment. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: One hundred patients of BC after the completion of treatment from the Department of Radiation Oncology, PostGraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India, were enrolled in the study during December 2017 to December 2018. EORTC QLQ C30/+BR23 questionnaires were used to quantify the QoL of these patients. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 49.35 ± 8.66 years. Mean global health status (GHS) QoL score was 64.6 ± 13.6. Functional scales, in most of the domains were high, whereas symptom scales were moderate to low for most items, showing better QoL. Pain (40.6 ± 19.1) and fatigue (54.8 ± 16.1) were the most disturbing symptoms. Patients exhibited higher scores for sexual functioning, whereas the least score was for future perspective. CONCLUSIONS: There was significant overall improvement in the QoL of patients with BC after the completion of treatment regarding functional scales and symptom scales as per EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire. As per EORTC QLQ-BR23 questionnaire, there was deterioration of the QoL concerning future perspectives for functional scale and hair loss for symptom scales.