Table 2.
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on (neo)adjuvant treatment of breast cancer
| Disease or treatment type | N = 129 |
|---|---|
| Breast cancer ≥ 2 cm and/or node positive disease,a n (%) | |
| Maintained neoadjuvant therapy | 129 (100.0) |
| Operable locally advanced breast cancer,b n (%) | |
| Maintained neoadjuvant therapy | 82 (63.6) |
| Maintained adjuvant therapy | 28 (21.7) |
| Changed to adjuvant therapy | 12 (9.3) |
| Changed to neoadjuvant therapy | 7 (5.4) |
| Neoadjuvant hormone therapy or chemotherapyc due to the potentially more difficult access to surgery during the pandemic, n (%) | |
| Yes, with lower frequency | 1 (0.8) |
| Yes, with the same frequency | 17 (13.1) |
| Yes, with greater frequency | 54 (41.9) |
| No | 57 (44.2) |
| Preference for adjuvant short-term chemotherapy regimens,d n (%) | |
| Maintained preference for chemotherapy without anthracyclines | 55 (42.6) |
| Changed preference to chemotherapy with anthracyclines | 1 (0.8) |
| Maintained preference for chemotherapy with anthracyclines | 59 (45.7) |
| Changed preference to chemotherapy without anthracyclines | 6 (4.7) |
| Do not generally prescribe short-term chemotherapy regimens | 8 (6.2) |
| Preferred taxanes regimen in the sequential scheme of chemotherapy, n (%) | |
| Maintained preference for weekly paclitaxel | 72 (55.8) |
| Changed preference to docetaxel q3w | 28 (21.7) |
| Maintained preference for docetaxel q3w | 15 (11.6) |
| Changed preference to weekly paclitaxel | 4 (3.1) |
| Other | 7 (7.8) |
| Maintained/changed preference to dose-dense paclitaxel | 5 (3.9) |
| Maintained/changed preference to paclitaxel q3w | 2 (1.6) |
| Preferred taxanes regimen associated with (dual) anti-HER2 blockade, n (%) | |
| Maintained preference for weekly paclitaxel | 72 (55.8) |
| Changed preference to docetaxel q3w | 21 (16.3) |
| Maintained preference for docetaxel q3w | 33 (25.6) |
| Changed preference to weekly docetaxel | 3 (2.3) |
| (Neo)adjuvant chemotherapy with anthracyclines (standard versus dose-dense),e n (%) | |
| Maintained preference for standard regimen | 24 (18.6) |
| Changed preference to dose-dense regimen | 2 (1.6) |
| Maintained preference for dose-dense regimen | 89 (69.0) |
| Changed preference to standard regimen | 14 (10.8) |
| Neoadjuvant carboplatin,f n (%) | |
| Yes, with lower frequency | 16 (12.4) |
| Yes, with the same frequency | 93 (72.1) |
| Yes, with greater frequency | 2 (1.5) |
| No | 18 (14.0) |
| Adjuvant capecitabine,f n (%) | |
| Yes, with lower frequency | 6 (4.65) |
| Yes, with the same frequency | 106 (82.2) |
| Yes, with greater frequency | 6 (4.65) |
| No | 11 (8.5) |
HER2 human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, q3w every 3 weeks
aTriple-negative or HER2-positive disease
bLuminal B-like/HER2-negative disease
cNeoadjuvant in certain contexts (e.g., luminal A-like)
dIn patients with no relevant comorbidities
eTriple-negative and/or lymphatic disease-positive breast cancer
fTriple-negative disease