Tumor Surgeries Delayed Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic; Renal Cell Carcinoma Progressing from Stage T1b to T3b: A Case Report

Abstract
COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease. This condition affects the decision of both the patient and the surgeon about the surgery of newly diagnosed cancer patients and it may also result in delays in cancer surgeries because of the limitations in healthcare applications. In our particular case, it was aimed to present the transition of the cancer from the localized stage to distant spread stage cancer since the patient who was pre-diagnosed with RCC and who was recommended surgery, did not want to undergo surgery due to COVID-19 pandemic and its risks. Our case was a 49-year-old female patient. In her computed tomography, a 58x70 mm heterogeneously enhancing solid lesion which showed exophytic extension from the middle zone of the right kidney to the lower pole was observed. Surgery was recommended for the patient but the patient claimed that she did not want to undergo surgery due to the risk of COVID-19 pandemic. The patient made an application for the surgery 8 months later. The new magnetic resonance imaging of the patient showed that there was a mass lesion of approximately 76x76x80 mm in size, which involved middle-lower part of the right kidney and extended into the opening of the renal vein VCI by invading the renal vein. Radical nephrectomy and thrombectomy procedure was applied to the patient with RCC? tumor. Due to psychosocial problems caused by the pandemic, surgeries are delayed and an acceleration of the cancer progression from the localized stage to the distant spread stage occurs indispensably.