The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was first detected as a respiratory illness in December 2019 in Wuhan City, China. Since then, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has impacted every aspect of our lives worldwide. In a time when terms such as social distancing and flattening the curve have become a part of our vernacular, it is essential that we understand what measures can be implemented to protect our patients and healthcare workers. Undoubtedly, healthcare providers have had to rapidly alter care delivery models while simultaneously acknowledging the crucial unknowns of how these changes may affect clinical outcomes. This special feature reviews strategies on how to mitigate transmission of COVID-19 in an effort to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with the disease for patients with cancer without infection, for patients with cancer with COVID-19 infection, and for the healthcare workers caring for them, while continuing to provide the best possible cancer care. [Editor's Note: This article includes the most current information available at time of publication; however, recommendations regarding public safety and practice may change rapidly in this situation. Individuals should get the most up to date information from the CDC website.].
Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN. 2020 Apr 15 [Epub ahead of print]
Pelin Cinar, Timothy Kubal, Alison Freifeld, Asmita Mishra, Lawrence Shulman, James Bachman, Rafael Fonseca, Hope Uronis, Dori Klemanski, Kim Slusser, Matthew Lunning, Catherine Liu
1Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, California., 2Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida., 3Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, Omaha, Nebraska., 4Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania., 5University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, Colorado., 6Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Phoenix, Arizona., 7Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, North Carolina., 8Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, Ohio., 9Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut., 10Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; and.