The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of head and neck cancer patients at a tertiary care institution in Poland

Mateusz Szewczyk; Jakub Pazdrowski; Paweł Golusiński; Paweł Pazdrowski; Barbara Więckowska; Wojciech Golusiński

doi:10.5114/wo.2021.111310

eISSN: 1897-4309
ISSN: 1428-2526

Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia

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4/2021
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abstract:

Original paper

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of head and neck cancer patients at a tertiary care institution in Poland

Mateusz Szewczyk

¹

,

Jakub Pazdrowski

¹

,

Paweł Golusiński

²

,

Paweł Pazdrowski

³

,

Barbara Więckowska

⁴

,

Wojciech Golusiński

¹

Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Poland
Department of Otolaryngology and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Zielona Góra, Poland
Head and Neck Surgery Student Group, Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Poznań University of Medial Sciences, Poland
Department of Computer Science and Statistics, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Poland

Contemp Oncol (Pozn) 2021; 25: 264–269

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/wo.2021.111310

Online publish date: 2021/12/08

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AMA

Szewczyk M, Pazdrowski J, Golusiński P, Pazdrowski P, Więckowska B, Golusiński W. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of head and neck cancer patients at a tertiary care institution in Poland. Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia. 2021;25(4):264-269. doi:10.5114/wo.2021.111310.

APA

Szewczyk, M., Pazdrowski, J., Golusiński, P., Pazdrowski, P., Więckowska, B.,  & Golusiński, W. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of head and neck cancer patients at a tertiary care institution in Poland. Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia, 25(4), 264-269. https://doi.org/10.5114/wo.2021.111310

Chicago

Szewczyk, Mateusz, Jakub Pazdrowski, Paweł Golusiński, Paweł Pazdrowski, Barbara Więckowska,  and Wojciech Golusiński. 2021. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of head and neck cancer patients at a tertiary care institution in Poland". Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia 25 (4): 264-269. doi:10.5114/wo.2021.111310.

Harvard

Szewczyk, M., Pazdrowski, J., Golusiński, P., Pazdrowski, P., Więckowska, B.,  and Golusiński, W. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of head and neck cancer patients at a tertiary care institution in Poland. Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia, 25(4), pp.264-269. https://doi.org/10.5114/wo.2021.111310

MLA

Szewczyk, Mateusz et al. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of head and neck cancer patients at a tertiary care institution in Poland." Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia, vol. 25, no. 4, 2021, pp. 264-269. doi:10.5114/wo.2021.111310.

Vancouver

Szewczyk M, Pazdrowski J, Golusiński P, Pazdrowski P, Więckowska B, Golusiński W. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of head and neck cancer patients at a tertiary care institution in Poland. Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia. 2021;25(4):264-269. doi:10.5114/wo.2021.111310.

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Introduction
To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis and treatment of patients at a tertiary hospital in Poland.

Material and methods
This was a retrospective review of head and neck cancer patients who presented to the multidisciplinary tumour board (MTB) during the 12-month period from March 2020 to February 2021 and compared to patients who presented to the MTB during the prior, pre-pandemic 12-month period from February 2019 to March 2020: Patient demographic and clinical variables were compared: sex, age at diagnosis, distance from hospital, date of first visit, radiological diagnosis, pathology specimen, MTB meeting, and initiation of primary and adjuvant treatment.

Results
The number of patients who presented to the MTB increased by 22% (278 to 340) from the pre-pandemic to the pandemic period. The mean time from MTB presentation to treatment initiation increased significantly from 17.1 to 21.7 days. The mean time from first visit to treatment start increased from 44.7 to 54.4 days. The proportion of patients with early-stage oropharyngeal cancer who underwent primary surgery rose from 47.3% to 86.6%. The percentage of patients who received palliative radiotherapy increased from 20.5% to 32.9%. The proportion of patients who received best supportive care rose from 1.8% to 6.2%.

Conclusions
One of the most notable findings of this study was the increased time from first visit to treatment initiation, which could negatively impact patient outcomes. The differences in the treatment received in these two periods should be further evaluated to determine their influence on survival.

keywords:

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of head and neck cancer patients at a tertiary care institution in Poland

Mateusz Szewczyk 1 , Jakub Pazdrowski 1 , Paweł Golusiński 2 , Paweł Pazdrowski 3 , Barbara Więckowska 4 , Wojciech Golusiński 1

COVID-19, head neck, pandemic, oncology, impact

Mateusz Szewczyk

¹

,

Jakub Pazdrowski

¹

,

Paweł Golusiński

²

,

Paweł Pazdrowski

³

,

Barbara Więckowska

⁴

,

Wojciech Golusiński

¹