Purpose This study aims to describe the experience of Swiss oncological patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A national multi-center study including five hospitals covering the three main language regions of Switzerland was conducted between March and July 2021. Patients with melanoma, breast, lung, or colon cancer receiving active systemic anti-cancer treatment at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic were included. We conducted semi-structured telephone or onsite interviews alongside the administration of distress and resilience-validated questionnaires. Thematic analysis was performed for the qualitative data and descriptive statistics for the quantitative data. Results Sixty-two cancer patients with a mean age of 61 (SD=14) (58% female) were interviewed. Based on the interviews, we identified that the experience of having cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic was related to five dimensions: psychological, social, support, healthcare, and vaccination. Three themes transverse the five dimensions: (a) needs, (b) positive changes, and (c) phases of the pandemic. In general, patients did not experience delays or disruptions in their cancer treatment nor felt additionally burdened by the pandemic. Lockdown and isolation were reported as mixed experiences (positive and negative), and access to vaccination reassured patients against the risk of infection and instilled hope to return to normalcy. Additionally, we found low distress levels (M=2.9; SD=2.5) and high resilience scores (M=7; SD=1.3) in these patients. Conclusion Swiss patients with cancer did not express major needs or disruptions in their care during this period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results identify the mixed experiences of patients and highlight the high resilience levels.

BACKGROUND Management of severe symptomatic immune-related adverse events (IrAEs) related to immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) can be facilitated by timely detection of these complications. As patients face a heterogeneous set of symptoms outside the clinical setting, remotely monitoring and assessing symptoms using patient-reported outcomes (PRO) may result in shorter delays between symptom onset and clinician detection. OBJECTIVE This study is designed to assess the effect of a model of care based on PRO data on the time to detection of symptomatic IrAEs from symptom onset. METHODS 198 patients with cancer receiving systemic treatment comprised exclusively of ICI will be recruited from two Swiss university hospitals. Patients are randomized (1:1) to a digital model of care (intervention) or usual care (control group). Patients are enrolled for six months and use an electronic application to complete questionnaires. Patients in the intervention group complete a weekly PRO-CTCAE™ questionnaire and reassess active symptoms daily for the first three months. Nurses call patients in the event of new or worsening symptoms and manage them, using a standardized triage algorithm. Outcomes of interest include time to IrAE detection (primary outcome), time to IrAE intervention, IrAE grade (severity), health-related quality of life, self-efficacy and overall survival. RESULTS This study has received funding from the ISREC foundation and Kaiku Health Ltd. It is in active recruitment since November 2021 and is projected to conclude in November 2023. Trial results will be disseminated through publications in scientific journals, abstracts and presentations submitted at international scientific conferences. CONCLUSIONS This trial is among the first trials to use PRO data to directly influence routine care of patient treated with ICI. It aims to demonstrate the challenges of diagnosing and managing symptoms associated with treatment remotely, providing further insight into the burden they represent to patients on a daily basis. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier : NCT05530187