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Review
. 2021 Apr;124(8):1357-1360.
doi: 10.1038/s41416-021-01274-4. Epub 2021 Feb 9.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on eye cancer care in United Kingdom

Haoyu Wang  1 , Mohammed Elsheikh  2 , Kenneth Gilmour  2 , Victoria Cohen  3   4 , Mandeep S Sagoo  3   4 , Bertil Damato  3   4 , Rodrigo Anguita  3   4 , Heinrich Heimann  5 , Rumana Hussain  5 , Paul Cauchi  2 , Vikas Chadha  2 , Julie Connolly  2 , Paul Rundle  1 , Sachin M Salvi  6
Affiliations
Review

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on eye cancer care in United Kingdom

Haoyu Wang et al. Br J Cancer. 2021 Apr.

Erratum in

  • Publisher Correction.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] Br J Cancer. 2021 Oct;125(8):1177. doi: 10.1038/s41416-021-01520-9. Br J Cancer. 2021. PMID: 34417578 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the National Health Service in United Kingdom. The UK Ocular Oncology Services evaluated the impact on the adult eye cancer care in the UK. All four adult Ocular Oncology centres participated in a multicentre retrospective review comparing uveal melanoma referral patterns and treatments in a 4-month period during the national lockdown and first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 with corresponding periods in previous 2 years. During the national lockdown, referral numbers and confirmed uveal melanoma cases reduced considerably, equalling to ~120 fewer diagnosed uveal melanoma cases compared to previous 2 years. Contrary to the recent trend, increased caseloads of enucleation and stereotactic radiosurgery (p > 0.05), in comparison to fewer proton beam therapy (p < 0.05), were performed. In the 4-month period following lockdown, there was a surge in clinical activities with more advanced diseases (p < 0.05) presenting to the services. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to mount pressure and reveal its hidden impact on the eye cancer care, it is imperative for the Ocular Oncology Services to plan recovery strategies and innovative ways of working.

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Conflict of interest statement

The study was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre based at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Staging for uveal melanoma cases in percentage between March and June in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and between July and October in 2020 from all of the four Ocular Oncology centres in United Kingdom.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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