PURPOSE Gastric cancer (GC) is among the most prevalent and fatal cancers worldwide. National cancer screening programs in countries with high incidences of this disease provide medical aid beneficiaries with free-of-charge screening involving upper endoscopy to detect early-stage GC. However, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused major disruptions to routine healthcare access. Thus, this study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the diagnosis, overall incidence, and stage distribution of GC. MATERIALS AND METHODS We identified patients in our hospital cancer registry who were diagnosed with GC between January 2018 and December 2021 and compared the cancer stage at diagnosis before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Subgroup analyses were conducted according to age and sex. The years 2018 and 2019 were defined as the "before COVID" period, and the years 2020 and 2021 as the "during COVID" period. RESULTS Overall, 10,875 patients were evaluated; 6,535 and 4,340 patients were diagnosed before and during the COVID-19 period, respectively. The number of diagnoses was lower during the COVID-19 pandemic (189 patients/month vs. 264 patients/month) than before it. Notably, the proportion of patients with stages 3 or 4 GC in 2021 was higher among men and patients aged ≥40 years. CONCLUSIONS During the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall number of GC diagnoses decreased significantly in a single institute. Moreover, GCs were in more advanced stages at the time of diagnosis. Further studies are required to elucidate the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and the delay in the detection of GC worldwide.

中文翻译：

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2019 年冠状病毒病对胃癌诊断和分期的影响：韩国单机构研究。

目的 胃癌 (GC) 是全球最常见和最致命的癌症之一。该疾病高发国家的国家癌症筛查计划为医疗援助受益人提供免费筛查，包括上消化道内窥镜检查，以检测早期胃癌。然而，2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 大流行对常规医疗服务造成了重大干扰。因此，本研究旨在评估 COVID-19 对 GC 诊断、总体发病率和分期分布的影响。材料和方法 我们在医院癌症登记处确定了 2018 年 1 月至 2021 年 12 月期间被诊断为 GC 的患者，并比较了 COVID-19 大流行之前和期间诊断时的癌症分期。根据年龄和性别进行亚组分析。2018年和2019年被定义为“新冠疫情之前”时期，2020年和2021年被定义为“新冠疫情期间”。结果 总体而言，共有 10,875 名患者接受了评估；在 COVID-19 之前和期间分别有 6,535 名和 4,340 名患者被诊断出来。COVID-19 大流行期间的诊断数量低于之前（189 名患者/月 vs. 264 名患者/月）。值得注意的是，2021 年，男性和 40 岁以上患者中 3 期或 4 期 GC 患者的比例较高。结论 在 COVID-19 大流行期间，单个机构的 GC 诊断总数显着下降。此外，诊断时GC已处于更晚期阶段。需要进一步研究来阐明 COVID-19 大流行与全球 GC 检测延迟之间的关系。