(this article belongs to the Special Issue Timisoara Morphological Days)

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Healthcare systems were widely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, both by the need to maximize space for Sars-Cov-2 cases and the movement restrictions imposed by authorities. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of the pandemic on colorectal cancer diagnosis in the Pius Branzeu Emergency County Clinical Hospital Timisoara Material and methods. We retrospectively analyzed all colorectal tumor resection cases diagnosed in the Pathology Department of the Pius Branzeu Emergency County Clinical Hospital Timisoara over four years, including two pre-pandemic years and two years of COVID-19 restrictions. Demographic data, along with pathology report information, were collected. Results. We noted a slight decrease in the number of cases diagnosed in the first year of restrictions, but not statistically significant compared to the other study years. There was a decrease in the number of diagnosed right-sided colon cancers in both pandemic years (59 and 81 cases) when compared to the prepandemic ones (89 and 97 cases). Interestingly, the left-sided cases were more numerous during the pandemic (8,52% increase). Overall, the tumor location shows a very significant effect (p=0.0038). Colon cancers were less diagnosed in women throughout the entire time span, with the lowest number of cases seen in the first pandemic year. Overall, the patient's sex showed a significant effect (p=0.0218). Conclusions. The pandemic status impacted the colorectal cancer patients cohort, seen in the decrease in diagnosed cases and shifts in the distribution of cases concerning the tumor site and sex of the patient.

Keywords: Covid-19 pandemic, colon cancer, pathological diagnosis