TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on time to treatment in head and neck cancer management
T2 - a systematic review
AU - Grumstrup Simonsen, Malte
AU - Fenger Carlander, Amanda-Louise
AU - Kronberg Jakobsen, Kathrine
AU - Grønhøj, Christian
AU - Von Buchwald, Christian
PY - 2025/1/28
Y1 - 2025/1/28
N2 - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused a need for reorganization in the healthcare systems. First, we aimed to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on time to treatment in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Second, we aimed to determine the impact of COVID-19 on tumor stage and changes in treatment regimens used.MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic search in PubMed and Embase was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Inclusion criteria were: (1) Studies including patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas; (2) Studies containing a comparison of time to treatment; (3) Studies containing a well-defined time interval with restrictions on health care due to COVID-19 and a well-defined time interval without restrictions.RESULTS: A total of 19 studies were included comprising 24,898 patients treated for HNC cancer. Six studies (10.1% of the patients) reported an increase in waiting time within at least one interval, while seven studies reported a decrease (83.2% of the patients), and six studies found no significant effect. No changes in treatment modalities were observed. Seven of 15 studies (12.7% of the patients) observed an increase in either overall stage, size, or tumor node and metastasis classification during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these, two studies reported increased waiting times as well.INTERPRETATION: The impact of the COIVD-19 pandemic on time to treatment was heterogenous and subject to considerable intercountry and interregional variations. A tendency toward a higher T-classification was observed. In conclusion, otorhinolaryngology departments demonstrated resilience, as the pandemic led to only slight alterations in time to treatment.
AB - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused a need for reorganization in the healthcare systems. First, we aimed to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on time to treatment in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Second, we aimed to determine the impact of COVID-19 on tumor stage and changes in treatment regimens used.MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic search in PubMed and Embase was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Inclusion criteria were: (1) Studies including patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas; (2) Studies containing a comparison of time to treatment; (3) Studies containing a well-defined time interval with restrictions on health care due to COVID-19 and a well-defined time interval without restrictions.RESULTS: A total of 19 studies were included comprising 24,898 patients treated for HNC cancer. Six studies (10.1% of the patients) reported an increase in waiting time within at least one interval, while seven studies reported a decrease (83.2% of the patients), and six studies found no significant effect. No changes in treatment modalities were observed. Seven of 15 studies (12.7% of the patients) observed an increase in either overall stage, size, or tumor node and metastasis classification during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these, two studies reported increased waiting times as well.INTERPRETATION: The impact of the COIVD-19 pandemic on time to treatment was heterogenous and subject to considerable intercountry and interregional variations. A tendency toward a higher T-classification was observed. In conclusion, otorhinolaryngology departments demonstrated resilience, as the pandemic led to only slight alterations in time to treatment.
KW - Humans
KW - COVID-19/epidemiology
KW - Time-to-Treatment/statistics & numerical data
KW - Head and Neck Neoplasms/therapy
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck/therapy
KW - Neoplasm Staging
KW - Pandemics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85217272945&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2340/1651-226X.2025.41366
DO - 10.2340/1651-226X.2025.41366
M3 - Review
C2 - 39876689
SN - 0284-186X
VL - 64
SP - 156
EP - 166
JO - Acta oncologica (Stockholm, Sweden)
JF - Acta oncologica (Stockholm, Sweden)
ER -