The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on head and neck cancer services: a UK tertiary centre study

Abstract

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has necessitated almost exclusive National Health Service focus on emergency work and cancer care. There are concerns that increased hospital and community pressures will lead to decreased referrals and worse outcomes for head and neck cancer patients. Method This is a retrospective review of all cases referred for suspected head and neck cancer to our institution in January and April 2020. Results There was a 55 per cent decrease in referrals but diagnostic yield rose from 2.9 per cent in January to 8.06 per cent in April. In both months, 100 per cent of patients met the 31- and 62-day targets, with similar 14-day wait time success (97.83 per cent for January vs 98.33 per cent for April). Referrals for laryngopharyngeal reflux rose from 27.5 per cent to 41.9 per cent. Referrals for those aged over 60 years fell from 42 per cent to 26 per cent. Conclusion It is suggested that further research be conducted into the reasons why fewer patients were referred, particularly elderly patients, and why laryngopharyngeal reflux is so prevalent in fast-track referrals.

The impact of COVID‐19 on the presentation, stage and management of head and neck cancer patients: A real‐time assessment

“…The COVID‐19 pandemic, associated national lockdown with a reduction in diagnostic services and disruption in care delivery, is leading to unintended consequences in long‐term morbidity. 2 There have been reports of a decrease in referrals with suspected HNC, 3 but there is lack of published numerical data on any actual reduction in confirmed cases and if this has impacted on the patterns of care.…”

Telephone triage of suspected head and neck cancer patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic using the Head and Neck Cancer Risk Calculator version 2

“…1 The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has had a significant effect on the management of cancer patients in the UK, and otolaryngologists and head and neck surgeons around the world have been forced to make changes to their method of practice. [2][3][4][5] The two-week wait pathway for the referral of head and neck cancer patients by general physicians was also affected by these changes. An attempt was made to rapidly implement a remote triaging system for the assessment of head and neck cancer referrals utilising the Head and Neck Cancer Risk Calculator version 2 ('HaNC-RCv2').…”

From Anti-Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Immune Response to Cancer Onset via Molecular Mimicry and Cross-Reactivity

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Among the many proportion of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer 13 ; and a higher number of diagnosed head and neck cancers (2.9-8.06% in January-April 2020). 14 Such data have been interpreted as due to the pressure exerted by the viral pandemic on the health care system, so cancer treatments have been delayed and, also, have been related to the viral infection per se. 15 However, how SARS-CoV-2 infection might relate to cancer diseases remains unclear.…”