Times to Diagnosis, Staging, and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer Before and During COVID-19.
OTO Open 2021;
5:2473974X211059429. [PMID:
34870063 PMCID:
PMC8637711 DOI:
10.1177/2473974x211059429]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has reduced the demand for,
and supply of, head and neck cancer services. This study compares the times
to diagnosis, staging, and treatment of head and neck cancers before and
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Study Design
Retrospective cohort study.
Setting
Tertiary academic medical center in New York City (NYC).
Methods
The times to diagnosis, staging, and treatment of head and neck cancer for
patients presenting to the clinics of 4 head and neck oncology surgeons with
newly diagnosed head and neck cancers were compared between pre–COVID-19 and
COVID-19 periods.
Results
Sixty-eight patients in the pre–COVID-19 period and 26 patients in the
COVID-19 period presented with newly diagnosed head and neck cancer.
Patients in the COVID-19 group had a significantly longer time to diagnosis
than the pre–COVID-19 group after adjustment for age and cancer diagnosis
(P = .02; hazard ratio [HR], 0.54; 95% CI, 0.32-0.92).
Patients in the pre–COVID-19 and COVID-19 groups had no statistically
significant differences in time to staging (P > .9; HR,
1.01; 95% CI, 0.58-1.74) or time to treatment (P = .12; HR,
1.55; 95% CI, 0.89-2.72).
Conclusion
This study found that time to diagnosis for head and neck cancers was delayed
during a COVID-19 period compared to a pre–COVID-19 period. However, there
was no evidence of delays in time to staging and time to treatment during
the COVID-19 period. Our results prompt further investigations into the
factors contributing to diagnostic delays but provide reassurance that
despite COVID-19, patients were receiving timely staging and treatment for
head and neck cancers.
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