Oral Cavity (high risk for viral aerosolization)
- Premalignant disease
- Defer with telemedicine visits
- Review clinical photographs to help rule out invasive cancer missed
by biopsy
- Early malignant disease
- Consider short-term deferral with weekly telemedicine
visits10
- Proceed with primary surgery
- Continue to monitor while stable; proceed to surgery if primary
progresses or if there is any evidence of cervical node involvement
- Intermediate malignant disease
- Proceed with primary surgery
- Advanced malignant disease
- Consider neoadjuvant systemic therapy (discussion on a case-by-case
basis – consider the risk of immunosuppression)
Oropharynx (high risk for
viral aerosolization)
HPV status should be identified. As recommended by Topf et al. ,
if necessary, HPV-negative patients should be
prioritized11.
- Early disease
- Consider short-term deferral with weekly telemedicine visits
- Favor non-surgical treatment
- Consider surgical treatment if high likelihood of single modality
treatment, depending on the experience of the surgical team and
institutional resources
- Intermediate disease
- Consider deferral with weekly telemedicine visits
- Favor non-surgical treatment
- Advanced disease
- Proceed with non-surgical treatment