COVID-19 and radiotherapy: potential new strategies for patients management with hypofractionation and telemedicine

Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2020 Dec;24(23):12480-12489. doi: 10.26355/eurrev_202012_24044.

Abstract

COVID-19 disease is one of the biggest public health challenges in Italy and global healthcare facilities, including radiotherapy departments, faced an unprecedented emergency. Cancer patients are at higher risk of COVID-19 infection because of their immunosuppressive state caused by both tumor itself and anticancer therapy adopted. In this setting, the radiation therapy clinical decision-making process has been partly reconsidered; thus, to reduce treatment duration and minimize infection risk during a pandemic, hypofractionated regimens have been revised. Moreover, telemedicine shows its helpfulness in the radiotherapy field, and patients get the supportive care they need minimizing their access to hospitals. This review aims to point out the importance of hypofractionated RT and telemedicine in cancer patient management in the COVID-19 era.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Bone Neoplasms / radiotherapy
  • Bone Neoplasms / secondary
  • Brachytherapy / methods
  • Brain Neoplasms / radiotherapy
  • Brain Neoplasms / secondary
  • Breast Neoplasms / radiotherapy
  • COVID-19*
  • Clinical Decision-Making
  • Delivery of Health Care
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Neoplasms / radiotherapy*
  • Practice Guidelines as Topic
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / radiotherapy
  • Radiation Dose Hypofractionation*
  • Radiation Oncology / methods*
  • Radiosurgery / methods
  • Radiotherapy / methods*
  • Radiotherapy, Conformal / methods
  • Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated / methods
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Telemedicine / methods*
  • Time-to-Treatment