Analysis of Salivary Gland Cancer before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has harmed health services, including delays in diagnosing and beginning of cancer treatment. Objective: To analyze and compare the number of salivary gland cancer (SGC) case registrations, staging and time to start treatment (TT) from 2019 to 2022 in Brazil. Met...

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Main Authors: Vitória Ferreira Leite, Débora Rosana Alves Braga Silva Montagnoli, Yasmim Silva Godoy, Alex Júnio Silva Cruz, Maria Cássia Ferreira Aguiar, Mauro Henrique Nogueira Guimarães Abreu, Renata Castro Martins
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Instituto Nacional de Câncer (INCA) 2025-03-01
Series:Revista Brasileira de Cancerologia
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Online Access:https://rbc.inca.gov.br/index.php/revista/article/view/4800
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Summary:Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has harmed health services, including delays in diagnosing and beginning of cancer treatment. Objective: To analyze and compare the number of salivary gland cancer (SGC) case registrations, staging and time to start treatment (TT) from 2019 to 2022 in Brazil. Method: Data on SGC registrations, gender, age group, type of treatment, staging, and TT were collected from the Oncology Panel. A descriptive analysis of the variables was carried out and the Friedman test was used to compare the number of SGC, staging, and TT records of the years analyzed (p < 0.05), using SPSS v.22.0. Results: For the period investigated, SGC records were more prevalent in males from the fifth decade of life onwards; surgery and radiotherapy were the most frequent therapeutic modalities, and stages IV and III were the most prevalent whenever staging was recorded. TT < 30 days was predominant in all periods, followed by TT > 60 days. SGC, staging and TT records showed median variations between pre- and trans-pandemic periods, but without statistically significant differences (p > 0.05). Conclusion: No significant differences were identified in SGC, staging, and TT records in Brazilian states before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. These results suggest that the Brazilian public health system managed to maintain consistent cancer care, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ISSN:0034-7116
2176-9745