Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (01/2020 - 12/2021) on the incidence and the tumor stage of head and neck cancer

ABSTRACT

Introduction According to international publications the COVID-19 pandemic led to a delay in the medical treatment of different diseases. The purpose of our investigation was to evaluate the incidence and the stage of head and neck cancer in the period from 01/2020-12/2021. These data were compared to that before the pandemic in the time period from 01/2018-12/2019. Method Using our oncological documentation system, a monocentric analysis of the number of tumor diagnosis and tumor stages at initial diagnosis was carried out looking at the 2-year pandemic period from 2020-2021. The purpose of the investigation was to determine whether there was a pandemic-related delay in treatment of oncological patients in our clinic. Results The analysis showed no decrease in the number of new tumor cases in the pandemic years 2020-2021 compared to the years 2018-2019. Furthermore, no shift towards more advanced tumor stages during the COVID-19 pandemic could be determined. Conclusion Occasionally the COVID-19 pandemic led to delayed tumor diagnosis and treatment, which resulted in a worse outcome for many patients. This effect could be turned around by accurate appointment planning taking tumor suspected cases under consideration. Furthermore, special office hours particularly for tumor cases even in times of a lockdown including video consultations when appropriate and patient awareness campaigns led to a favorable patient care.