Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on melanoma diagnosis and presentation: a `review

Abstract

The ongoing challenges posed by COVID-19 are concerning for their impact on successful detection and recognition of melanoma as total body skin examinations and skin biopsies are critical for identifying early-stage melanoma and intervening before progression to metastatic disease. A comprehensive electronic search of PubMed/MEDLINE was conducted on or before August 1, 2022, using the search terms ("skin" AND "COVID-19"), (["skin cancer" AND "COVID-19"] OR ["skin cancer" AND "coronavirus"]), (["melanoma" AND "COVID-19"] OR ["melanoma" AND "coronavirus"]), ("dermatology" AND "COVID-19"), and ("cutaneous" AND "COVID-19"). Eight articles representing Belgium, Chile, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States were included. Four articles analyzed changes in the proportion of in situ melanoma at diagnosis and consistently reported decreases, with an overall decrease ranging from 7.6 to 40.4%. Five studies analyzed changes in the proportion of melanoma diagnoses by staging, but no clear changes in staging patterns were observed. Five studies analyzed changes in the mean Breslow thickness of melanoma diagnoses and consistently reported increases, with an overall increase ranging from 4.0 to 38%. Disruptions to proper diagnosis and treatment of melanoma are creating undue morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs as the pandemic continues. Continued research with improved, centralized data collection is needed to better address the COVID-19 pandemic's ongoing challenge to appropriate detection and treatment of melanoma.