Skin cancer characteristics during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic at a tertiary hospital in Latin America

Background The influence of the novel human coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on skin cancer characteristics in Latin America is still poorly elucidated.Methods This was a cross-sectional study which included patients diagnosed with skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma [BCC], cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma [cSCC], and primary cutaneous melanoma [cMM]) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (from March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021) and the preceding year at our institution. The total number of skin cancer diagnoses and surgeries, as well as their topography, clinicopathological staging at diagnosis, and treatment delay were compared between the two periods.Results There was a 31.8% reduction in skin cancer diagnoses during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic at our institution. There was an increase in the proportion of low-risk cancers according to the NCCN guidelines for BCCs (40.8-49%, P < 0.001) and cSCCs (41.7-49.6%, P = 0.03), but there was no difference in the distribution of other staging systems for the three types of cancer. We also found a significant reduction in surgeries for BCCs (-57.6%, P < 0.001) and cSCCs (-44.7%, P < 0.001) but not for cMM.Conclusions The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with reduced numbers of skin cancer diagnoses and surgeries at our institution. This study provides an assessment of skin cancer characteristics during the first year of the pandemic in the Latin American population.