THE PROGRESS OF THYROID CANCER IN THE COVID 19 PERIOD

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on thyroid cancer stage. Methods : Our study includes comparative analysis on two patient groups treated for thyroid cancer. Patients who were treated for thyroid cancer between 11 April 2018 and 11 March 2020 were included in Group 1, and patients who were treated for thyroid cancer between 11 March 2020 and 11 February 2022 during the COVID-19 epidemic were included in Group 2. Results: Groups 1 and 2 included 163 and 117 patients, respectively. Patients with preoperative fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) as potentially malignant or malignant were significantly higher in Group 2 (p=0.001). When compared according to the postoperative pathological diagnoses, there was a significant difference between the groups, poorly differentiated thyroid cancer was more common in Group 2 (p=0.018). Pathological tumor diameter was significantly larger in Group 2 (p=0.001). Conclusions: Patients with suspicious findings in terms of thyroid diseases and cancer applied to the hospital later, both because of the fear of contracting COVID-19 and as a result of the pandemic measures recommended and implemented by all world health authorities. These patients applied to the hospital with their complaints gradually increasing in the following periods, parallel to this, there was a delay in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer and the disease could be detected at a more advanced stage.