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Open Access 07-12-2024 | Lung Cancer | Original Article

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on surgical treatment for thoracic malignant tumor cases in Japan: a national clinical database analysis

Authors: Yasushi Shintani, Hiroyuki Yamamoto, Yukio Sato, Masayoshi Inoue, Keisuke Asakura, Hiroyuki Ito, Hidetaka Uramoto, Yoshinori Okada, Toshihiko Sato, Mariko Fukui, Yasushi Hoshikawa, Toyofumi Fengshi Chen-Yoshikawa, Masayuki Chida, Norihiko Ikeda, Ichiro Yoshino

Published in: Surgery Today | Issue 2/2025

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Abstract

Objective

Surgical care has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of the pandemic on lung cancer and mediastinal tumor surgery.

Methods

Changes in the number of surgical procedures for lung cancer and mediastinal tumors were analyzed using the National Clinical Database of Japan. Patient characteristics, including disease stage and histological type, from 2019 to 2022 were evaluated using annual datasets.

Results

Comparisons with 2019 showed that the number of patients who underwent surgery for primary lung cancer or a mediastinal tumor decreased in 2020 and then remained stable. There were no clinically significant changes in the trend over the four-year period regarding the number of patients for each clinical and pathological stage of lung cancer. Regarding mediastinal tumors, there was no significant difference in tumor size between years. There was a slight change in the selection of surgical indication during the second quarter of 2020, although its impact on annual trends in the stage distribution for lung cancer and primary disease for mediastinal tumors was minimal.

Conclusions

Analyses of lung cancer and mediastinal tumor surgery cases in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic showed no significant disease profile changes related to treatment delay.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on surgical treatment for thoracic malignant tumor cases in Japan: a national clinical database analysis
Authors
Yasushi Shintani
Hiroyuki Yamamoto
Yukio Sato
Masayoshi Inoue
Keisuke Asakura
Hiroyuki Ito
Hidetaka Uramoto
Yoshinori Okada
Toshihiko Sato
Mariko Fukui
Yasushi Hoshikawa
Toyofumi Fengshi Chen-Yoshikawa
Masayuki Chida
Norihiko Ikeda
Ichiro Yoshino
Publication date
07-12-2024
Publisher
Springer Nature Singapore
Published in
Surgery Today / Issue 2/2025
Print ISSN: 0941-1291
Electronic ISSN: 1436-2813
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-024-02907-w

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