Radiotherapy in the COVID-19 Pandemic Era

Gonnelli, Alessandra; Montrone, S.; Cocuzza, P.; Ursino, Stefano; Manfredi, B.; Mattioni, Roberto; Coccia, Natalina; Fuentes, Taiusha; Calistri, Elisa; Pasqualetti, F.; Paiar, Fabiola

doi:10.21873/invivo.12222

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 2 publications

(1 reference statement)

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“…Switzerland also had a significant reduction in daily activity during April 2020 12 . A study by Gonnelli et al 13 for the period March end of May, shows an increase in RT treatments by 5%, which is not in accordance with our results. The Chauhan et al 9 study agrees with our results for the period from January to the end of May 2020, which were moved two months forward (the pandemic in India started two months earlier than in RS).…”

Section: External Beam Radiotherapycontrasting

confidence: 99%

Covid-19's impact on radiotherapy in the Republic of Srpska

et al. 2022

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Background/Aim. The aim of this epidemiological study was to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the weekly number of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) fractions and monthly brachytherapy (BT) applications, without intentional hypofractionation. We also investigated how the pandemic affected the number of EBRT patients younger and older than 70 years. Methods. The Affidea Radiotherapy Center, Banja Luka (BL), provides radiotherapy (RT) to the population (1.15 million) of the Republic of Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina). We analyzed the period of 14 months before the onset and the same period during the Covid-19. Results. The average weekly number of EBRT fractions from January 2019 to the end of February 2020, was 680.5 (SD 67.4), and from March 2020 to the end of April 2021, it was 617.1 (SD 96.4). During April 2020, the weekly number of the EBRT decreased by 67.9 % compared to the same period in 2019, while in March 2021 it fell by 42.4 %. Paired samples T-test showed that the occurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic had a statistically significant effect t(60)=4.627, p<0.05, on the reduction in the number of weekly EBRT fractions in BL RT center. When comparing EBRT patients over 70 years old to those fewer than 70 years old, the decrease was 16.3 % vs. 1.6 %, respectively. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed that the Covid-19 pandemic had a statistically significant effect (Z=-2.42, p=0.016) on reducing the number of monthly BT applications. Conclusion. A statistically significant decline in EBRT and BT was observed in BL RT Centre for the first fourteen months of the pandemic. The "waves" of the pandemic "closed" the medical wards needed for the diagnosis and therapy of oncology patients and converted them into Covid-19. Therefore, some oncology patients who would have had indication for RT never received it.

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Section: External Beam Radiotherapycontrasting

confidence: 99%

Covid-19's impact on radiotherapy in the Republic of Srpska

et al. 2022

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“…The other studies focused on RT workflow and preventive protection procedures for Covid-19 infection in all patients and healthcare professionals [ 195 , 197 – 200 , 205 , 212 , 213 , 216 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Covid-19 and radiotherapy: a systematic review after 2 years of pandemic

Piras¹,

Venuti

D’Aviero³

et al. 2022

Clin Transl Imaging

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Introduction Following the Covid-19 pandemic spread, changes in clinical practice were necessary to limit the pandemic diffusion. Also, oncological practice has undergone changes with radiotherapy (RT) treatments playing a key role. Although several experiences have been published, the aim of this review is to summarize the current evidence after 2 years of pandemic to provide useful conclusions for clinicians. Methods A Pubmed/MEDLINE and Embase systematic review was conducted. The search strategy was “Covid AND Radiotherapy” and only original articles in the English language were considered. Results A total of 2.733 papers were obtained using the mentioned search strategy. After the complete selection process, a total of 281 papers were considered eligible for the analysis of the results. Discussion RT has played a key role in Covid-19 pandemic as it has proved more resilient than surgery and chemotherapy. The impact of the accelerated use of hypofractionated RT and telemedicine will make these strategies central also in the post-pandemic period.

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“…In the early stages of malignancy, negatively screened patients should only receive radiation therapy if deemed absolutely necessary. At the same time, those with locally advanced tumors are recommended a neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen or hormone therapy first and then to continue with radiotherapy after some delay 85 . Patients already receiving radiotherapy should be individually assessed about whether to continue therapy with the previous dose or reduce the dose’s intensity 86 .…”

Section: Challenges Of Radiotherapy During the Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the same time, those with locally advanced tumors are recommended a neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen or hormone therapy first and then to continue with radiotherapy after some delay. 85 Patients already receiving radiotherapy should be individually assessed about whether to continue therapy with the previous dose or reduce the dose's intensity. 86 Moreover, using proton beam therapy, stereotactic body radiation, or a hypo-fractionated schedule can also be considered to decrease the risk of radiation-related immunosuppression.…”

Section: T a B L E 1 (Continued)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges posed by COVID‐19 in cancer patients: A narrative review

et al. 2021

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A novel coronavirus, or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), was identified as the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). In early 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID‐19 the sixth public health emergency of international concern. The COVID‐19 pandemic has substantially affected many groups within the general population, but particularly those with extant clinical conditions, such as having or being treated for cancer. Cancer patients are at a higher risk of developing severe COVID‐19 since the malignancy and chemotherapy may negatively affect the immune system, and their immunocompromised condition also increases the risk of infection. Substantial international efforts are currently underway to develop specific methods for diagnosing and treating COVID‐19. However, cancer patients’ risk profiles, management, and outcomes are not well understood. Thus, the main objective of this review is to discuss the relevant evidence to understand the prognosis of COVID‐19 infections in cancer patients more clearly, as well as helping to improve the clinical management of these patients.

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Radiotherapy in the COVID-19 Pandemic Era

Cited by 7 publications

References 2 publications

Covid-19's impact on radiotherapy in the Republic of Srpska

Covid-19's impact on radiotherapy in the Republic of Srpska

Covid-19 and radiotherapy: a systematic review after 2 years of pandemic

Challenges posed by COVID‐19 in cancer patients: A narrative review

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