Demography

Biology

Surgery

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Paleontology

Head and neck

Pediatrics

Head and neck cancer

Significant difference

Stage (stratigraphy)

Family medicine

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Internal medicine

Sociology

Referral

Medicine

Medical diagnosis

Pandemic

Disease

Cancer

Pathology

European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology

The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on new diagnoses of head and neck cancer (HNC) in South Tyrol, northern Italy in terms of the number of new diagnoses and worsening disease stage due to diagnostic delay.Patients were divided into two groups: the control group with a first diagnosis of HNC in 10 months before the national lockdown (March 9th, 2020) and the study group with a first diagnosis of HNC in 10 months after lockdown.A total of 124 patients were included in the study. Before the spread of COVID-19, 79 new diagnoses of HNCs were registered, while in the period after the lockdown, 45 new cancers cases were diagnosed and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.01278). Early clinical T-stage results showed 52 cases in the control group and 21 in the study group, again with a significant difference (p = 0.03711). Advanced T-stage results showed 27 cases in the control group and 24 in the study group.This study highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HNCs, showing a statistically significant difference in the number of diagnoses before and after the lockdown which was related to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and with a relevant decrease in early cT-staged HNCs.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on head and neck cancer diagnosis: data from a single referral center, South Tyrol, northern Italy