Influence of the Covid-19 pandemic situation on the time of diagnosis of head and neck cancer

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic situation over the past two years has placed considerable stress on the medical treatment facilities. The therapy and prognosis of head and neck cancer (HNC) depends largely on the time of diagnosis. In the medical subjective perception, HNC were diagnosed later under pandemic conditions for various reasons, such as additional fear of visiting a doctor and postponed examinations by the medical staff. For some sub-areas of medicine, valid studies are already available. With the help of an evaluation of the UICC tumor stages at diagnosis, it is intended to retrospectively determine whether the most common HNC in 2020 and 2021 were diagnosed later than in 2018 and 2019. The UICC stages of all (n = 207) laryngeal, oropharyngeal, hypopharyngeal and oral cavity carcinomas primarily treated at the Halberstadt Otorhinolaryngology Clinic were evaluated for the diagnosis periods 2018/2019 and 2020/2021 (until November 2021). Overall, there was no evidence of an increase in tumor stages in 2020/21 compared to 2018/19. Even an evaluation of the subgroups with a view to the stages at the time of diagnosis does not reveal any evidence of a significant delay due to the pandemic situation. Despite temporary logistical restrictions, it has apparently been possible to prevent an extension of the diagnostic periods for the most common head and neck tumors.