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

COVID-19 and head and neck cancer management. Experience of an oncological hub comprehensive cancer centre and literature review

“…Furthermore, in contrast to findings reported by other investigators 8 , 9 , 12 regarding a higher incidence of advanced-stage diseases during COVID-19, we did not observe any significant difference between Group A (2020) and Group B (2019). In addition to the protective effect of the telephone triage and telemedicine visits for patients from outside the region, the oncological network with the other regional hospitals enabled us to facilitate patient management by establishing dedicated outpatient visits and operating room sessions.…”

“…However, an extension of the time to diagnosis was not significant in two studies 8 , 9 , while Yao et al reported a longer time to diagnosis (p = 0.02) but not to staging 11 . Four studies showed a significant increase in tumour size (p = 0.042) 8 and in T stage 9 , 10 , 12 at presentation in the COVID group. A worsening of N stage was not found 8 , 12 .…”

“…Finally, concerning TTI, no alterations in initial therapies modalities were registered 7 , 9-11 , while only one study reported a significant extension of TTI (45 vs 35 days, p = 0.004) between the same period in 2019 and 2020 12 . Table IV summarises this data.…”

The Impact of COVID-19 Confinement on Tinnitus and Hearing Loss in Older Adults: Data From the LOST in Lombardia Study

“…Moreover, the exceptionality of the pandemic might have served as a barrier for new diagnoses of tinnitus and hearing loss in 2020. In fact, during the COVID-19 pandemic diagnoses of common conditions decreased substantially ( 22 ), in Italy specifically regarding cancers ( 23 – 25 ), retinal disorders ( 26 ), and cardiovascular diseases ( 27 ). In Italy alone this resulted in 12.5 million missing diagnostic tests, 20.4 million blood tests, 13.9 million specialist consultations, and over a million hospital admissions ( 28 ).…”

Position paper of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology on the impact of COVID-19 on Italian oncology and the path forward: the 2021 Matera statement

“…The containment measures to halt the spread of the COVID-19 infection, the conversion of many oncology in-patient clinics into COVID-19 units (particularly during the first wave of the pandemic and in the regions of northern Italy), the shortage of oncologists and radiotherapists diverted to COVID-19 care, and the lack of ICU beds, occupied by patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome, have contributed significantly to this scenario, albeit with substantial differences between regions. [13][14][15] The consequences of the serious interruption of all aspects of the cancer care continuum, from screening to treatment, will potentially result in an increase in advanced-stage cancer diagnoses in the coming years and may lead to an increase in cancerrelated mortality. 16 Social isolation and anxiety due to delayed (or impeded) access to diagnosis, surgery, or systemic treatments have also affected mental well-being of patients with cancer, their caregivers, and cancer survivors.…”