Radiation in a Palliative Setting During Covid-19 Era. An Indian Tertiary Cancer Care Prospective – Risks, Benefits .

Abstract

India and the rest of the world are experiencing an outbreak of the COVID- 19 virus. WHO has declared 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID19), a public health emergency of international concern. (1) Palliative treatment compromises a major portion of radiation treatments in cancer. (2) Metastatic or palliation treatment presents a unique challenge in resource-limited settings as ours and early treatment to alleviate their symptoms and disease is the need of the hour to prevent further morbidity and mortality. These patients are usually more cachexic with low immunity and more prone to infection of COVID-19 than the normal population, here their treatment has to be expedited and their visits to the hospital to be minimized to prevent infection with COVID. (3) We reviewed the best evidence and recommended best practices for the treatment of common oncologic emergencies with more emphasis on balancing the risk of infection with the COVID-19 virus and the potential morbidity of delaying treatment. In COVID -19 Era pandemic, the use of hypofractionated radiation therapy for palliative patients for oncologic emergencies achieves intended functional outcomes without compromising care