Objective: The pandemic caused delays in the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases, and bladder cancer is one of them. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the pandemic on primary bladder cancer by comparing the pre- and post-coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic within an 18-month spectrum, based on March 2020 in patients with primary bladder cancer who applied to our clinic.
Methods: Only patients operated for primary bladder tumors were included in the study, they were divided into two groups as those who underwent surgery before and after the 18-month period. Those operated before March 2020 were classified as group A, those operated after March 2020 were classified as group B. The characteristics of the two groups, such as age, gender, smoking status, tumor size, tumor multiplicity, and pathological stage, were compared.
Results: The existing bladder tumor was examined according to its size, tumor multiplicity and pathological stage, and it was observed that there were significant differences between the groups (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Delays in the diagnosis of diseases such as bladder cancer may cause to progression of the disease.