{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T05:45:08Z","timestamp":1785908708490,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785888000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002839","name":"Charit\u00e9 \u2013 Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002839","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant changes in healthcare, but its effects on patients with severe skin diseases are not yet fully understood.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Objectives<\/jats:title>\n To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on characteristics of non-melanoma skin cancer in a German patient population.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n A retrospective single-center study analyzing data from patients who underwent surgical treatment for epithelial skin cancer before (Nov 2019\u2013Feb 2020), during (Nov 2020\u2013Feb 2021), and after the COVID-19 pandemic (Nov 2022\u2013Feb 2023) at a Berlin hospital without drastic COVID-19-related care restrictions.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n Data from 565 patients undergoing surgery for epithelial skin cancer were evaluated. Tumor thickness and the proportion of patients with more malignant tumors increased following the COVID-19 pandemic, while the proportion of patients with nodular basal cell carcinomas decreased. At the same time, the duration of inpatient stays decreased. Additionally, the proportion of patients with autoimmune diseases rose, placing a greater burden on the healthcare system and patients.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Limitations<\/jats:title>\n This was a retrospective single-center study of patients who had undergone elective surgery.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n These findings underscore the need for a sufficient number of specialized healthcare facilities to balance pandemic-related restrictions and new responsibilities with the continued treatment of serious illnesses.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1833019","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T04:53:09Z","timestamp":1785905589000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Epithelial skin cancer before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Anna","family":"Pisarek","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Translational Skin Inflammation Research, Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin and Humboldt- Universit\u00e4t zu Berlin","place":["Berlin, Germany"]},{"name":"Centre for Dermatosurgery, Havelklinik","place":["Berlin, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Robert","family":"Sabat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Translational Skin Inflammation Research, Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin and Humboldt- Universit\u00e4t zu Berlin","place":["Berlin, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kerstin","family":"Wolk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Translational Skin Inflammation Research, Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin and Humboldt- Universit\u00e4t zu Berlin","place":["Berlin, Germany"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sylke","family":"Schneider-Burrus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Translational Skin Inflammation Research, Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Charit\u00e9\u2014Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin and Humboldt- Universit\u00e4t zu Berlin","place":["Berlin, Germany"]},{"name":"Centre for Dermatosurgery, Havelklinik","place":["Berlin, 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