Times to Diagnosis, Staging, and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer Before and During COVID-19
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...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2021-11-01
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| Series: | OTO Open |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/2473974X211059429 |
| _version_ | 1797641302587736064 |
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| author | Peter Yao Victoria Cooley MS William Kuhel MD Andrew Tassler MD Victoria Banuchi MD Sallie Long MD Oleksandr Savenkov PhD David Ivan Kutler MD |
| author_facet | Peter Yao Victoria Cooley MS William Kuhel MD Andrew Tassler MD Victoria Banuchi MD Sallie Long MD Oleksandr Savenkov PhD David Ivan Kutler MD |
| author_sort | Peter Yao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:43:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c9c3cc9770f14dfcac1571ce8e716c28 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2473-974X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:43:38Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | OTO Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-c9c3cc9770f14dfcac1571ce8e716c282023-11-02T11:18:22ZengWileyOTO Open2473-974X2021-11-01510.1177/2473974X211059429Times to Diagnosis, Staging, and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer Before and During COVID-19Peter Yao0Victoria Cooley MS1William Kuhel MD2Andrew Tassler MD3Victoria Banuchi MD4Sallie Long MD5Oleksandr Savenkov PhD6David Ivan Kutler MD7Weill Cornell Medical College, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USADepartment of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USADepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USADepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USADepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USADepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USADepartment of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USADepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USAObjective 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.https://doi.org/10.1177/2473974X211059429 |
| spellingShingle | Peter Yao Victoria Cooley MS William Kuhel MD Andrew Tassler MD Victoria Banuchi MD Sallie Long MD Oleksandr Savenkov PhD David Ivan Kutler MD Times to Diagnosis, Staging, and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer Before and During COVID-19 OTO Open |
| title | Times to Diagnosis, Staging, and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer Before and During COVID-19 |
| title_full | Times to Diagnosis, Staging, and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer Before and During COVID-19 |
| title_fullStr | Times to Diagnosis, Staging, and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer Before and During COVID-19 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Times to Diagnosis, Staging, and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer Before and During COVID-19 |
| title_short | Times to Diagnosis, Staging, and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer Before and During COVID-19 |
| title_sort | times to diagnosis staging and treatment of head and neck cancer before and during covid 19 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/2473974X211059429 |
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