{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T06:07:42Z","timestamp":1778652462996,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778630400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["por-journal.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Pathol. Oncol. Res."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background\/Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The COVID-19 pandemic influenced cancer care worldwide, delaying diagnosis and treatment. We compared waiting times \u2014 time to initial diagnostic imaging, time to treatment, time to histopathological diagnosis, and length of hospital stay \u2014 of kidney cancer patients between pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods at a large regional Hungarian clinical center. We also aimed to identify factors predicting prolonged waiting times.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Data from 400 adult kidney cancer patients (all histologically renal cell carcinoma) at the University of P\u00e9cs Urology Clinic were analyzed retrospectively, for two periods (1 January 2019\u201315 March 2020, pre-pandemic; 16 March 2020\u201313 May 2021, pandemic). Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected, and time intervals calculated from electronic health records, followed by statistical analyses.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Median time from symptom onset to initial diagnostic imaging increased significantly from 7.5 to 34\u00a0days during the pandemic (p = 0.026), while time to treatment (p = 0.492), time to histopathological diagnosis (p = 0.575), and length of hospital stay (p = 0.319) remained stable. Median healthcare-related waiting times (time to treatment and time to histopathological diagnosis) were comparatively long (range: 95.5\u2013111\u00a0days). Advanced-stage disease (III\u2013IV) was protective for prolonged time to initial diagnostic imaging (OR 0.205, 95% CI 0.074\u20130.568) pre-pandemic and for prolonged time to histopathological diagnosis (OR 0.496, 95% CI 0.254\u20130.971) during the pandemic. No other demographic or clinical factors influenced waiting times significantly.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The pandemic prolonged the interval from symptom onset to initial diagnostic testing, likely due to fear-driven healthcare avoidance by patients, but did not affect healthcare-related waiting times. Advanced-stage disease predicted shorter waiting times, with variable influence across periods. Our findings highlight the need for patient education and careful prioritization of care, with waiting times exceeding those reported in other international settings.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/pore.2026.1612411","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T05:10:07Z","timestamp":1778649007000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Delayed diagnostic imaging but stable treatment initiation for kidney cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic: a Hungarian cohort study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"32","author":[{"given":"L\u00e1szl\u00f3","family":"Rumi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Urology Clinic, University of P\u00e9cs Clinical Center","place":["P\u00e9cs, 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Hungary"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"J\u00e1nos","family":"Gir\u00e1n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical and Health Data Analytics Lab, Department of Public Health Medicine, University of P\u00e9cs Medical School","place":["P\u00e9cs, Hungary"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Istv\u00e1n","family":"Kiss","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health Medicine, University of P\u00e9cs Medical School","place":["P\u00e9cs, Hungary"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"\u00c1rp\u00e1d","family":"Boronkai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oncotherapy, University of P\u00e9cs Clinical Center","place":["P\u00e9cs, Hungary"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"\u00c9va","family":"Pozsgai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical and Health Data Analytics Lab, Department of 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