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

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.