Department of Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
Head Neck. 2021 Jun;43(6):1890-1897. doi: 10.1002/hed.26665. Epub 2021 Mar 2.
Due to COVID-19, diagnostic delays and a surge of advanced head and neck cancer (HNC) is anticipated. We hereby evaluate patient and tumor characteristics before and during the early COVID-19 period.
Retrospective review of patients with HNC presented at a multidisciplinary tumor conference from May 14, 2020 to June 18, 2020 was performed and compared to a similar 6-week period a year before. Demographics, time to diagnosis, and tumor characteristics were analyzed.
There was a 25% reduction in newly diagnosed malignancies. Groups were similar in baseline characteristics, duration of symptoms, and time to diagnosis. However, median primary tumor size was significantly larger (p = 0.042) and T stage more advanced for mucosal subsites (p = 0.025) in the COVID-19 group.
Our findings suggest increased tumor burden in patients with HNC presenting during the pandemic, despite a similar time to diagnosis. This may become more pronounced as the pandemic duration is extended.
由于 COVID-19，预计会出现诊断延迟和头颈部癌症（HNC）的高发。在此，我们评估了 COVID-19 早期前后患者和肿瘤的特征。
回顾性分析了 2020 年 5 月 14 日至 6 月 18 日在多学科肿瘤会议上就诊的 HNC 患者，并与前一年同期的类似 6 周进行了比较。分析了人口统计学、诊断时间和肿瘤特征。
新诊断的恶性肿瘤减少了 25%。两组在基线特征、症状持续时间和诊断时间方面相似。然而，COVID-19 组的原发肿瘤大小中位数明显更大（p = 0.042），黏膜部位的 T 分期更晚（p = 0.025）。
我们的研究结果表明，尽管诊断时间相似，但在大流行期间就诊的 HNC 患者的肿瘤负担增加。随着大流行时间的延长，这种情况可能会更加明显。
