Introduction
In December 2019, the first patient was diagnosed with severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease (SARS-Cov-2), eventually
leading to a global pandemic. The clinical manifestations of coronavirus
disease 2019 (Covid-19) can vary widely, ranging from mild respiratory
symptoms to severe viral pneumonia, which may be followed by respiratory
failure and death 1. Shortly after the emergence of
the virus, treating patients with Covid-19 became a key priority and
severe restrictions were put in place, thus limiting health care
resources, even in hospitals that do not treat these patients.
Unsurprisingly, these restrictions also affected the care of cancer
patients in terms of access to diagnosis and treatment2.
In this context, the aim of the study was to assess the impact of
Covid-19 on the diagnosis and treatment of patients at our hospital (the
Greater Poland Cancer Center [GPCC]), a comprehensive cancer care
centre. We compared the characteristics of patients diagnosed with head
and neck cancer during the 12-month, pre-pandemic period prior to
implementation of pandemic-related restrictions in Poland in March 2020
to patients diagnosed and treated during the pandemic period (March 2020
through February 2021). More specifically, we sought to determine
whether there were any differences between the two periods in terms of
demographic and clinical variables, and the impact of the pandemic on
the diagnosis and treatment of these patients.