Patients with head & neck cancer with COVID-19 in Brazil

ABSTRACT

Introduction: With the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, concern for the most vulnerable populations has become an urgency. Several studies warn of the weakness of patients with head & neck cancer (HNC). The objective is to describe the sociodemographic and clinical profile of patients with HNC with a positive diagnosis for COVID-19 who required hospitalization. Method: In this prospective observational study, carried out from March to May 2020, we included individuals of both sexes, enrolled in the Head and Neck Surgery Department of the Brazilian National Cancer Institute and diagnosed with COVID-19 who needed hospitalization. Results: A total of 1153 patients were attended in this period;30 patients required hospitalization and tested positive for COVID-19. The group had a mean age of 62.4 years, with a prevalence of male patients (n = 20;66.67%). There was a predominance of elderly (63.33%), self-declared White (73.32), married (53.32), with low education (56.58%), and smokers (56.67%). Most patients had advanced clinical oncological staging (III-IV;53.33%), approximately. The larynx was the site with the highest prevalence of individuals (n = 7), followed by the thyroid (n = 5) and the oral cavity (n = 5). Systemic arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus were the most prevalent comorbidities. It was observed that 60% of patients delayed the start of cancer treatment due to a positive diagnosis for COVID-19. Ten deaths had been confirmed, for a mortality rate of 33.3% in the sample. Conclusion: The present study describes a group of patients with HNC at increased risk for hospitalization infected by COVID-19 elderly individuals, with advanced tumors, economically disadvantaged, and undergoing cancer diagnosis and treatment who were not in social isolation.