COVID-19 and cancer care in India

Pramesh, C.S.; Chinnaswamy, Girish; Sengar, Manju; Ranganathan, Priya; Badwe, Rajendra

doi:10.1038/s43018-021-00290-w

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(4 reference statements)

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“…13 - 15 The current COVID-19 pandemic has further increased the gaps in health care because of the nonavailability of travel facilities and shortage of expert health care personnel and resources. 16 Although our VTBs were started much before the pandemic (in 2016), the establishment of VTBs offers a ready solution to address some of these issues.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

National Cancer Grid Virtual Tumor Boards of Head and Neck Cancers: An Innovative Approach to Multidisciplinary Care

Thiagarajan

Poojari

Tuljapurkar

et al. 2023

JCO Global Oncology

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PURPOSE Virtual tumor board (VTB) via videoconference facility involving multiple specialists in the decision making for various tumors is well accepted, especially in high-income countries. Information on virtual tumor boards for head and neck cancers especially from low- and middle-income countries is sparse. In this study, we have audited the findings of the National Cancer Grid VTBs performed for head and neck cancers. METHODS All patients discussed in the head and neck VTBs at our center between December 2016 and February 2022 were included in the study. Details such as the type of institute sending patients for discussion, its location, subsites within the head and neck region, histopathology, treatment setting or question for the VTB, and availability of guidelines for such patient scenarios were assessed. Also, a survey was sent to assess the usefulness of the VTBs. RESULTS A total of 208 patients were discussed in 54 VTB sessions. The most common head and neck sites discussed in the VTBs were the oral cavity (n = 64, 30.7%) followed by skull base/nose and paranasal sinuses/eyelid-orbit tumors (n = 49, 23.5%). Nonsquamous cell carcinoma was the most common histopathology discussed; recurrent cancers/residual diseases were the most common treatment settings (n = 134, 64.4%) for which there were no existing guidelines. Survey results showed that most VTB decisions were implementable, and respondents felt that VTBs were a useful educational tool as well. CONCLUSION Our study affirms the feasibility of VTBs in low- and middle-income countries' health care systems for managing uncommon malignancies and clinical situations, which act as an important educational platform.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

National Cancer Grid Virtual Tumor Boards of Head and Neck Cancers: An Innovative Approach to Multidisciplinary Care

Thiagarajan

Poojari

Tuljapurkar

et al. 2023

JCO Global Oncology

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“…However, the most affected were older cancer patients who, besides their fear of getting infected, also face other challenges in obtaining quality care such as social isolation, transportation difficulties, and age discrimination. While most cancer patients who contracted viral infection during the early phase of the pandemic only experienced a temporary interruption of their treatment, greater delays and modifications of treatment plans may have been considered necessary for older cancer patients ( 73 ). Thus, we propose a strategy combining modern technology such as telemedicine and spiritual support such as prayer, to improve the care of older patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it is very likely that the virus will remain with us in the foreseeable future.…”

Section: Impact Of Covid-19 On Cancer Treatmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on older cancer patients: Proposed solution by the International Geriatric Radiotherapy Group

Nguyen

Karlsson²,

Lehrman³

et al. 2023

Front. Oncol.

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Older cancer patients are disproportionally affected by the Coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. A higher rate of death among the elderly and the potential for long-term disability have led to fear of contracting the virus in these patients. This fear can, paradoxically, cause delay in diagnosis and treatment that may lead to a poor outcome that could have been prevented. Thus, physicians should devise a policy that both supports the needs of older patients during cancer treatment, and serves to help them overcome their fear so they seek out to cancer diagnosis and treatment early. A combination of telemedicine and a holistic approach, involving prayers for older cancer patients with a high level of spirituality, may improve vaccination rates as well as quality of life during treatment. Collaboration between health care workers, social workers, faith-based leaders, and cancer survivors may be crucial to achieve this goal. Social media may be an important component, providing a means of sending the positive message to older cancer patients that chronological age is not an impediment to treatment.

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“…Also in many countries, cancer centers were converted into COVID-19 centers with deployment of staff including laboratory personnel in them, further hampering the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of patients. Further scarcity of hospital staff was seen due to staggering of staff, spread of infection among the health care workers and quarantine [ 37 ]. All these lead to increased suffering of cancer patients including the detection rate of newly diagnosed cases.…”

Section: The Major Problem With Cancer Patients In Covid-19 Eramentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges faced in the cancer diagnosis and management—COVID-19 pandemic and beyond—Lessons for future

Aden¹,

Zaheer²,

Raj³

2022

Heliyon

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COVID-19 and cancer care in India

Cited by 9 publications

References 7 publications

National Cancer Grid Virtual Tumor Boards of Head and Neck Cancers: An Innovative Approach to Multidisciplinary Care

National Cancer Grid Virtual Tumor Boards of Head and Neck Cancers: An Innovative Approach to Multidisciplinary Care

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on older cancer patients: Proposed solution by the International Geriatric Radiotherapy Group

Challenges faced in the cancer diagnosis and management—COVID-19 pandemic and beyond—Lessons for future

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