New diagnoses of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction In medicine, the COVID-19 pandemic had and has significant secondary consequences in addition to its direct effects. As described for other malignancies, a decrease in new diagnoses and an increase in tumor stage could be shown for head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). However, the data situation is incongruent and so far there is no multicenter analysis for the German-speaking area.

Methods In this retrospective, multicenter, registry-based cohort study, a total of 1316 patients from Eastern Bavaria who were first diagnosed with non-remote metastatic HNSCCs between 03/2017 and 02/2021 were included. These were divided into a COVID-19 subcohort (initial diagnosis: 03/2020-02/2021) and a pre-COVID-19 subcohort (initial diagnosis: 03/2017-02/2020) and compared with regard to number of new diagnoses, tumor stage, primary treatment modality, and duration between diagnosis and initiation of therapy.

Results During the first twelve months of the COVID-19 pandemic, 13% fewer HNSCCs were first diagnosed than the average of the previous three years (p=0.028). However, tumor stages were more advanced (UICC III/IV: 59.5% vs. 65.8%; p=0.062). The primary treatment modality also changed significantly, with the proportion of patients receiving primary surgery decreasing from 60.9% to 50.2% (p=0.001). The duration from diagnosis to primary therapy between the two subcohorts did not differ (surgery: 22.1 vs. 21.3 days; radiation/chemotherapy: 39.6 vs. 38.8 days; n.s.).

Summary This registry-based cohort study demonstrated that significantly fewer HNSCCs were initially diagnosed and underwent primary surgery during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Eastern Bavaria.

Publication History

Article published online:
12 May 2023