The Challenges of Treating Patients with Cancer During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Jeffrey Schneider, MD, and Marc Braunstein, MD, PhD, spoke about their recent article published in the journal ONCOLOGY® regarding the management of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an article published in the journal ONCOLOGY®, researchers at NYU Winthrop Hospital presented considerations for the management of patients with cancer during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
One particular challenge discussed in the paper included balancing the benefits of oncology-directed treatment with the implicit increased risks of COVID-19 infection. Notably, the authors indicated that clinical trials have been initiated to specifically evaluate the changes that have occurred within this particular patient population, including 16 clinical trials which were either actively recruiting cancer patients or planning imminent recruitment to address specific concerns related to cancer management during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As more data come to light on the pathophysiology of the novel coronavirus, we will be able to better modify cancer care and treatment protocols to minimize risks to our patients,” the authors of the article wrote. “Until then, best practice in oncology care mandates strict infection control processes and informed conversations with our patients in which we discuss the risks and benefits of modifying standard approaches in order to decrease the risk of COVID-19 infection and its complications.”
In an interview with CancerNetwork®, co-authors Jeffrey Schneider, MD, chief of the division of Oncology/Hematology and director of the Thoracic Lung Cancer Program at NYU Winthrop Hospital, and Marc Braunstein, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and program director of the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at NYU Long Island School of Medicine and NYU Winthrop Hospital, discussed the paper further and what they have discovered through their own experiences in treating patients with cancer throughout the pandemic.
This segment comes from the CancerNetwork® portion of the MJH Life Sciences Medical World News, airing daily on all MJH Life Sciences channels.
Reference:
Huang J, Rohatgi A, Schneider J, Braunstein M. Considerations for the Management of Oncology Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic. ONCOLOGY®. https://www.cancernetwork.com/view/considerations-for-the-management-of-oncology-patients-during-the-covid-19-pandemic
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