• Silvina Arrossi, Fernando Binder, Carolina Ituarte, Natalia Martiarena, Alicia Campanera, Martín Bárcena, and Melisa Paolino.
• Centro de Estudios de Estado y Sociedad, Buenos Aires, Argentina. E-mail: silviarrossi@cedes.org.
• Medicina (B Aires). 2024 Jan 1; 84 (2): 236248236-248.

IntroductionLittle evidence exists on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemics on the compliance with cervical cancer treatment.MethodsWe carried out a population-based, before-and-after retrospective cohort study of all cervical cancer patients diagnosed in the Jujuy province public health sector (n=140), Argentina, between 2017 and 2020. Patients diagnosed in 2020 were considered exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic (n=21). We used multivariable logistic regression to assess the relationship between the pandemics and compliance with treatment. We also measured treatment duration for women who were indicated brachytherapy and time to treatment initiation by stage.ResultsCompared with women diagnosed in 2017-2019 the odds ratio of non-complying with treatment was 1.77 (95%CI 0.59-5.81; p = 0.32) for women diagnosed during 2020. An increased risk of non-compliance was found in patients with prescribed brachytherapy (OR 4.14. 95%CI 1.95-9.11; p < 0.001). Median treatment duration for women with prescribed brachytherapy was 12.8 and 15.7 weeks in 2017-2019 vs. 2020 (p = 0.33); median time to treatment initiation for women with early-stage disease was 9 and 5 weeks during 2017-2019 and 2020 respectively (p = 0.06), vs 7.2 and 9 weeks in 2017-2019 and 2020 respectively (p = 0.36) for patients with stages IIB+ disease.ConclusionsLow access to brachytherapy was a major determinant of non-compliance. irrespective of the effect of the pandemics.

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