Background Rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in 2020 led to an indirect effect on non-COVID patients. Since neuro-oncology cases are unique and brain tumors need a specific therapeutic protocol at proper doses and at the right times, the effects of the pandemic on health care services for patients with glioblastomas (GBs) and their impact on overall survival (OS) and quality of life are not yet known.

Methods We conducted a retrospective study of 142 GB patients who underwent surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy before and after the lockdown period, aiming to determine the differences in access to care, treatment modality, and adjuvant therapies, and how the lockdown changed the prognosis.

Results The number of procedures performed for GB during the pandemic was comparable to that of the prepandemic period, and patients received standard care. There was a significant difference in the volume of lesions measured at diagnosis with a decreased number of “accidental” diagnoses and expression of a reduced use by the patient for a checkup or follow-up examinations. Patients expressed a significantly lower performance index in the lockdown period with longer progression-free survival (PFS) in the face of a comparable mean time to OS.

Conclusion Patients treated surgically for GB during the pandemic period had a more pronounced and earlier reduction in performance status than patients treated during the same period the year before. This appears to be primarily due to lower levels of care in the rehabilitation centers and more frequent discontinuation of adjuvant care.

The study does not have repository data. Data are available in an institutional database that can be purchase from the corresponding author (DA).

All the procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. The patients consented to the submission of this review article to the journal.

D.A. were responsible for conceptualization, writing, statistical analysis, and surgical operation. L.D.'A. contributed to conceptualization and surgical operation. R.D.P. and G.C. contributed to data analysis, draft, and radiotherapy data. TJ contributed to follow-up data and research. FR contributed to research, writing, and data collection. D.G. and A.F. supervised the study. FM contributed to radiotherapy management and data collection. AS contributed to supervision and surgical operation.

Received: 21 March 2023

Accepted: 24 October 2023

Article published online:
03 July 2024

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