Long term outcomes of elective cancer surgery for kidney, bladder, and prostate cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis: an international, multicentre, observational cohort study. (CovidSurg-Cancer UROLOGY Follow-Up Study)
Background
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon patients diagnosed with urological (kidney, bladder and prostate) cancer in 2020 will be felt in the medium and long term. We aimed to follow-up these patients, who have been included in the main CovidSurg-Cancer study, for up to three years. We aimed to assess important outcomes including overall and disease-free survival as well as other key disease-specific patient-level outcomes. These data points and assessment time points were beyond the remit of the original CovidSurg-Cancer study. This study allowed us a unique opportunity to ethically evaluate the consequences of delaying cancer surgery.
The objectives
Prostate Cancer – To evaluate rates of positive surgical margins and early oncological outcomes in those undergoing prostatectomy.
Kidney Cancer – To evaluate recurrence rates up to 3 years after elective Partial Nephrectomy (PN) or Radical Nephrectomy (RN) which were either completed or delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bladder Cancer – To evaluate disease recurrence and overall survival at up to 3 years in those undergoing Radical Cystectomy (RC), Radiotherapy (RT) or other treatments (e.g. TURBT +/- intravesical therapy)
Study criteria/design for delivering the project
Patients enrolled during the 3-month study period of the COVIDSurg Cancer Study were expected to be followed up for 6-36 months from the point of multidisciplinary team (MDT) decision for treatment. A timeline for the study is shown in the flow diagram below.
The Study has now completed data collection and the results are being analysed and will be written up and submitted for peer-review
We would like to thank all our collaborators from across the world for collecting data on hundreds of patients to help us deliver this unique project
