Remschmidt Bernhard, Gaessler Jan, Brcic Luka, Wallner Jürgen, Muallah David, Rieder Marcus
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Clinic of Dental Medicine and Oral Health, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
University Clinic of Dental Medicine and Oral Health, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Oral Dis. 2024 Mar;30(2):216-222. doi: 10.1111/odi.14441. Epub 2022 Dec 2.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on patients' access to primary care services. A timely diagnosis of oral squamosa cell carcinoma is paramount. This study aims to quantify the pandemic's effect on tumor volume at the time of initial diagnosis.
In a retrospective study, all primarily diagnosed cancer patients between March 2018 and March 2022 were compiled; the TNM stage and the tumor volume were evaluated. Tumor volumes were calculated using pathology or radiology reports.
In total, 162 newly diagnosed tumor cases were included in this study. Of these, 76 (46.9%) cases were allocated in the "pre-COVID-19" group and 86 (53.1%) in the "COVID-19" group. Patients diagnosed during the "COVID-19" period showed a significantly advanced T stage (p < 0.001) and larger mean tumor volumes (53.16 ± 73.55 cm vs. 39.89 ± 102.42 cm ; p = 0.002) when compared to the control group.
Tumor volume and T stage were significantly advanced in the "COVID-19" group when compared to prepandemic data. We hypothesize that the postponement of routine dental check-ups may explain this finding. Hence, dentists and primary care providers are encouraged to place particular emphasis on screening during routine check-ups.
新冠疫情对患者获得初级医疗服务产生了影响。及时诊断口腔鳞状细胞癌至关重要。本研究旨在量化疫情对初诊时肿瘤体积的影响。
在一项回顾性研究中，收集了2018年3月至2022年3月期间所有初诊癌症患者的资料；评估了TNM分期和肿瘤体积。肿瘤体积通过病理或放射学报告计算得出。
本研究共纳入162例新诊断的肿瘤病例。其中，76例（46.9%）被分配到“新冠疫情前”组，86例（53.1%）被分配到“新冠疫情”组。与对照组相比，在“新冠疫情”期间诊断的患者T分期明显更晚（p < 0.001），平均肿瘤体积更大（53.16 ± 73.55立方厘米对39.89 ± 102.42立方厘米；p = 0.002）。
与疫情前的数据相比，“新冠疫情”组的肿瘤体积和T分期明显更晚。我们推测常规牙科检查的推迟可能解释了这一发现。因此，鼓励牙医和初级医疗服务提供者在常规检查中特别重视筛查。
