The effect of COVID-19 pandemic on laryngeal cancer in a tertiary referral center

Abstract

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate whether there was a significant change in the laryngeal cancer stage before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate the data of patients who operated due to laryngeal cancer in a tertiary referral hospital’s ear, nose, and throat (ENT) department between June 2018 and 2021. The patients were included at the same period of the years to rule out any seasonal changes. The basic characteristic, tumor localization, and TNM stage of the patients were compared. Results 97 patients were operated due to laryngeal cancer during the time period reviewed. 57 (58.8%) patients were operated before and 40 (41.2%) after the COVID-19 pandemic. When comparing the patients before and after the COVID-19 pandemic period, the mean age significantly differed between the study groups that older age was observed in patients who admitted before the COVID-19 pandemic (62.8 ± 6.5 vs. 57.3 ± 6.8, p < 0.001). Regarding the TNM classification, the patients in the after COVID-19 pandemic group had higher rates of T4 stage laryngeal cancer compared to before COVID-19 pandemic group (12 (30%) vs. 4 (7%), p : 0.003). Conclusion Younger patients have operated after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the patients were presented with larger tumor sizes. The pandemic may increase the time between diagnosis and surgery in laryngeal cancer patients.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on management of surgically treated laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

“…However, the data do reflect the specific needs of our local patient population. Fourth, our study cohort is relatively small, although it is comparable in size to other studies in this field [ 18 , 26 ]. Larger studies are needed to validate our findings and provide more robust conclusions.…”

“…Additionally, existing literature on LSCC patient characteristics presents conflicting viewpoints. While Elibol et al [ 18 ] found a significant increase in the proportion of T4-stage laryngeal tumors during the pandemic, Murri et al [ 17 ] observed no such difference. These discrepancies in the literature might reflect the heterogeneity across individual countries, cities, and hospitals.…”

Impact of the CALM intervention on breast cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The prevalence rate of work-related psychological distress caused by COVID-19 is 42%, which is mainly related to issues like work-life balance, value conflict, and high psychological needs [ 5 ]. The continued threat of contracting COVID-19, from pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic infections, means that combined prevention measures, including wearing masks outdoor, testing and tracing, isolation measures, and social distancing, will continue to affect daily life; this is also true for cancer patients requiring hospitalization, increasing their risk of infection and difficulty of hospitalization [ 3 , 15 , 42 ].…”

The survival rate of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma: impact of IL1RAP rs4624606, IL1RL1 rs1041973, IL-6 rs1800795, BLK rs13277113, and TIMP3 rs9621532 single nucleotide polymorphisms

“…In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the delay of LSCC diagnostics [ 5 ]. Due to the lack of medical and healthcare providers, the tendency of LSCC diagnosis was observed in younger patients with larger tumor sizes [ 6 ]. For this reason, an effective appointment system with telemedicine and education programs regarding HNSCC might be useful to detect these patients earlier [ 7 ].…”