Background/aim: Breast cancer treatment mainly involves interventional methods such as surgical resection and chemotherapy. How to best perform these treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic remains to be established.
Patients and methods: Patients with breast cancer who received SARS-CoV-2 PCR screening before cancer treatment from December 2020 to April 2021 were included. PCR screening was performed within 72 hours of the scheduled admission time and treatment.
Results: A total of 19 tests in 15 patients were analysed. Fourteen cases displayed no symptoms, and five cases had some symptoms. COVID PCR tests were negative in all cases.
Conclusion: COVID-19 screening can ensure that breast cancer patients do not miss scheduled treatments as a result of the pandemic. Diagnosis of patients with symptoms that are shared by COVID-19 infection, chemotherapy, and breast cancer recurrence must be performed carefully.
Keywords: COVID-19; PCR screening; breast cancer.
Copyright 2021, International Institute of Anticancer Research.