Impact of COVID-19 on presentation, staging, and treatment of head and neck mucosal squamous cell carcinoma.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

During the COVID-19 pandemic, maintenance of safe and timely oncologic care has been challenging. The goal of this study is to compare presenting symptoms, staging, and treatment of head and neck mucosal squamous cell carcinoma during the pandemic with an analogous timeframe one year prior.

Materials and methods

Retrospective cohort study at a single tertiary academic center of new adult patients evaluated in a head and neck surgical oncology clinic from March -July 2019 (pre-pandemic control) and March - July 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic).

Results

During the pandemic, the proportion of patients with newly diagnosed malignancies increased by 5%, while the overall number of new patients decreased (n = 575) compared to the control year (n = 776). For patients with

SUBMITTER: Stevens MN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8500684 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan-Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature