Abstract PO4-27-02: Pandemic Shifts: How did elective breast cancer care change?
Authors: Wang Haoqi , Reece Greg , Bordes Mary Catherine , Markey Mia , Hoffman Aubri 
Published: May 2024

Introduction: As the COVID-19 pandemic began, concerns arose that timely utilization of elective breast cancer care would decrease due to state moratoriums, travel restrictions, or fear, resulting in poorer long-term outcomes. Advances in telemedicine provided a new avenue for care; however, rapid implementation brought concerns about variable uptake and disparities. To support longitudinal clinical and epidemiological studies, this analysis described elective breast cancer care utilization during the first year of the pandemic, including patient, hospital, and geographic barriers and facilitators. Methods: The Multidisciplinary Breast Reconstruction Research Program team reviewed all breast cancer surgeries and procedures at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center during the pre-pandemic (March 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020) and pandemic (March 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021) periods. The team identified procedures that were deemed elective or preference-sensitive, and summarized the timeline of pandemic milestones and changes, including the implementation of telemedicine appointments. A data analyst summarized the distributions of completed, canceled, rescheduled, and never completed procedures. T tests and analyses of variance tested differences between the pre-pandemic and pandemic year. Generalized linear models assessed patient, hospital, and geographic factors that correlated with successful access to, and completion of, procedures. Two focus groups reviewed data and informed the interpretation of results. Results: During the first pandemic year, 30 breast care procedures were identified that were postponed during March-April, July-August, and December-January. Surprisingly, no decrease in overall utilization of elective care procedures was observed; in fact, 19% more elective breast cancer care surgeries and procedures were scheduled (4752 pre-pandemic vs 4003 pandemic) in 13% more episodes of care (2723 pre-pandemic vs 2415 pandemic). As expected, rescheduling of procedures increased 98% (from 14% pre-pandemic to 27% pandemic); however, the majority of procedures were able to be completed by the end of the year (72% pre-pandemic, 73% pandemic). Telemedicine did not significantly mediate successful completion, as the majority of procedures were prophylactic or reconstructive surgeries. However, extended hours (p = 0.03) and proximity to the hospital facilitated access and successful completion of care (p&lt; 0.01). The most common procedures that were not able to be performed within the first year of the pandemic were autologous breast reconstruction, revision, and mastopexy. Notably, patients reported slightly improved rates of anxiety and depression during the initial pandemic year (11% vs 14%, p = 0.04), possibly due to relative privation or comparison bias. Clinicians and patients/survivors noted several “lessons learned” that may inform access and preference-sensitive care delivery. Conclusions: Despite three periods of state-mandated discontinuation of elective care procedures, the majority of patients were able to access and successfully complete elective breast cancer care during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Future studies and initiatives may use this information to explore innovations in care delivery and short- and long-term effects on health outcomes.

Citation Format: Haoqi Wang, Greg Reece, Mary Catherine Bordes, Mia Markey, Aubri Hoffman. Pandemic Shifts: How did elective breast cancer care change? [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO4-27-02.