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The stage of laryngeal cancer before and after the COVID-19 pandemic: A retrospective study

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic severely restricted global access to healthcare, including for patients with laryngeal cancer (LC). OBJECTIVES: To compare laryngeal cancer stage distribution (TNM classification), surgical treatment patterns (types of surgery and perioperative complications), and timelines before vs 1 year after the COVID-19 pandemic declaration. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, single-center, cross-sectional study at a tertiary care center in Poland. The analysis included 110 patients hospitalized for laryngeal cancer during 2 six-month intervals: October 2019-March 2020 (prepandemic, group 1) and October 2021-March 2022 (post-pandemic, group 2). RESULTS: Group 1 included 49 patients, and group 2 included 61. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups, with males comprising 96.9% of group 1 and 83.6% of group 2. Admissions via the fast-track cancer pathway increased from 33.3% in group 1 to 52.5% in group 2. Although a higher proportion of patients in group 2 were classified as stage IVB by TNM, the difference was not statistically significant. Surgical treatment patterns were largely consistent across groups, except for a decrease in total laryngectomy from 18.4% in group 1 to 3.3% in group 2. Moderately differentiated tumors (G2) were more common in group 1 (66.7%) than in group 2 (35%). High concordance was observed between clinical and pathological staging for tumor size (79.1%) and regional lymph node metastasis (87.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Future research should extend the post-COVID-19 observation period, as pandemic-related adverse effects on cancer diagnosis and outcomes may not fully manifest until several years later.

Source: Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine

DOI: 10.17219/acem/205234

Authors: Joanna Cieślik, Jerzy Tomik

Institution: Jagiellonian University

Language: English

Topic: COVID-19 and healthcare impacts

Subfield: Oncology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $754