Cancer Care Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ameneh Jafari; Mostafa Rezaei-Tavirani; Samira Karami; Mohsen Yazdani; Hakimeh Zali; Zahra Jafari

doi:10.2147/RMHP.S261357

Cancer Care Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 2020 Sep 23:13:1711-1721. doi: 10.2147/RMHP.S261357. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Ameneh Jafari^{1

2}, Mostafa Rezaei-Tavirani¹, Samira Karami³, Mohsen Yazdani⁴, Hakimeh Zali^{1

5}, Zahra Jafari⁶

Affiliations

¹ Proteomics Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
² Student Research Committee, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
³ Hematopoietic Stem Cell Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
⁵ Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁶ 9Dey Manzariye Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

New cases of the novel coronavirus, also known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), are increasing around the world. Currently, health care services are mainly focused on responding to and controlling the unique challenges of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. These changes, along with the higher susceptibility of patients with cancer to infections, have profound effects on other critical aspects of care and pose a serious challenge for the treatment of such patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to provide strategies for managing the treatment of patients with cancer to limit COVID-19-associated risks at this difficult time. The present study set out to summarize the latest research on epidemiology, pathogenesis, and clinical features of COVID-19. We also address some of the current challenges associated with the management of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide practical guidance to clinically deal with these challenges.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; cancer; coronavirus; health care; pandemic.

Publication types

Review