Impact of COVID-19 on diagnosis and treatment of urological cancer

a literature review

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: At the end of 2019, the emergence of a new disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, originat- ing in Wuhan, China, was responsible for causing a severe acute respiratory syndrome. Thus, causing an unprecedented health crisis, crowding hospitals and canceling non-urgent medical care. The impact of the implementation of surgical prioritization protocols is being one of the biggest challenges for urologists in this pandemic due to the increase in postponed cancer surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study consists of a literature review where the data provided comes from articles published in the year 2020. The search for articles was carried out in the SCIELO, PUBMED databases. DISCUSSION: The work sought to report the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on surgical and oncology clinical practice in urology, showing that the postponement of certain surgeries can cause short-term clinical progression of cancer, increased specific cancer mortality and some psychological damage such as anxiety and depression. CONCLUSION: As explained in most articles on the topic, the physician has a fundamental role in the classification of patients regarding the risks of their disease and risk of hospitalization, in addition to the great importance of developing protocols by multidisciplinary teams to better categorize priorities and minimize the damage from these surgical postponements to patients.