{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,14]],"date-time":"2026-11-14T07:55:12Z","timestamp":1794642912635,"version":"4.9.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]],"date-time":"2025-12-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765929600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) requires early diagnosis for favorable outcomes, but global healthcare disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected cancer care delivery. This study aimed to investigate the pandemic\u2019s influence on OSCC pathological staging and disease-related characteristics at a single medical center. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 148 patients who underwent curative-intent surgery for newly diagnosed OSCC between March 2018 and October 2024. Patients were stratified into a Pre-COVID-19 group (March 2018\u2013January 2020, N = 52) and a Post-COVID-19 group (February 2020\u2013October 2024, N = 96). Patient demographics and risk factors were compared using Chi-squared and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, while pathological stage, Depth of Invasion (DOI), and surgical outcomes were analyzed. Results: Patient demographics, risk factors, and comorbidities were comparable between the two groups. The Post-COVID-19 cohort presented with significantly more advanced pathological disease, evidenced by an increase in overall TNM stage, including a dramatically higher rate of Stage 4 diagnosis (35% vs. 3.2% in the Pre-COVID-19 group). This group also showed a significantly higher Depth of Invasion (median DOI: 5.0 mm vs. 3.0 mm). Consequently, the Post-COVID-19 group required more aggressive treatment (e.g., higher rates of adjuvant radiotherapy) and experienced worse short-term outcomes, including significantly longer hospitalization (median 15 days vs. 6 days) and higher rates of postoperative pulmonary infection and tracheostomy. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a dramatic shift toward the diagnosis of OSCC at advanced pathological stages. This diagnostic delay necessitated more complex surgical management and resulted in significantly worse short-term outcomes. These findings underscore the urgent need for resilient strategies to prevent systemic diagnostic delays during public health crises.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina61122225","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]],"date-time":"2025-12-17T08:32:27Z","timestamp":1765960347000},"page":"2225","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pathological Stage, Tumor Characteristics and Surgical Outcomes of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Retrospective Analysis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"61","author":[{"given":"Samer","family":"Omari","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Baruch Padeh Medical Center Poriya, Tiberies 20200, Israel"},{"name":"The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Illan University, Tel Aviv 20200, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Murad","family":"AbdelRaziq","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Baruch Padeh Medical Center Poriya, Tiberies 20200, Israel"},{"name":"The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Illan University, Tel Aviv 20200, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kutaiba","family":"Alkeesh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Baruch Padeh Medical Center Poriya, Tiberies 20200, Israel"},{"name":"The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Illan University, Tel Aviv 20200, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3848-4886","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alaa","family":"Muhana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Baruch Padeh Medical Center Poriya, Tiberies 20200, Israel"},{"name":"The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Illan University, Tel Aviv 20200, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Imad","family":"Abu El-Naaj","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Baruch Padeh Medical Center Poriya, Tiberies 20200, Israel"},{"name":"The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Illan University, Tel Aviv 20200, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2912-2920","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yasmin","family":"Ghantous","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Baruch Padeh Medical Center Poriya, Tiberies 20200, Israel"},{"name":"The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Illan University, Tel Aviv 20200, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Ferlay, J., Ervik, M., Lam, F., Laversanne, M., Colombet, M., Mery, L., Pi\u00f1eros, M., Znaor, A., Soerjomataram, I., and Bray, F. 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