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.