The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 on the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of invasive cutaneous melanoma: A retrospective national cohort study

Abstract

Background: Prior multiinstitutional studies demonstrate that patients diagnosed with melanoma during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presented with more advanced melanomas.

Objectives: To further characterize patients diagnosed with melanoma during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Retrospective population-based cohort study of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Results (SEER) registry of patients diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma from 2018-2020.

Results: Patients diagnosed with melanoma in 2020 were more likely to have increased Breslow depth, more ulceration, nodular tumors, and more advanced stage at diagnosis despite less treatment delays. Patients tended to be from wealthier, more urban areas. Primary surgical treatment was more likely to be with Mohs surgery. Diagnosis in the year 2020 was not correlated with overall or disease specific survival.

Limitations: This is a retrospective cohort review and limited by short follow-up times, which could affect survival outcomes. There was a 15.5% drop in melanoma diagnosis in 2020 compared to prior years, which could relate to delayed presentation.

Conclusions and relevance: Patients diagnosed with melanoma in 2020 tended to have thicker, more ulcerated, and more advanced tumors, but this was not associated with survival. Further studies are needed to characterize outcomes for patients diagnosed with melanoma during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: 2019 novel coronavirus; COVID-19; COVID-19 pandemic; delayed diagnosis; disease-specific survival; melanoma; melanoma diagnosis; melanoma survival; overall survival.