COVID19 Prevention & Care; A Cancer Specific Guideline.

On March 11th 2020, the coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic by the WHO. One of the groups that is considered high risk in this pandemic are cancer patients as they are treated with a variety of immune system suppressor treatment modalities and this puts them in a great risk for infectious disease (including COVID-19). Therefore, cancer patients require higher level measures for preventing and treating infectious diseases. furthermore, cancer patients may bear additional risk due to the restriction of access to the routine diagnostic and therapeutic services during such epidemic. Since most of the attention of health systems is towards patients affected with COVID-19, the need for structured and unified approaches to COVID-19 prevention and care specific to cancer patients and cancer centers is felt more than ever. This article provides the recommendations and possible actions that should be considered by patients, their caregivers and families, physician, nurses, managers and staff of medical centers involved in cancer diagnosis and treatment. We pursued two major goals in our recommendations: first, limiting the exposure of cancer patients to medical environments and second, modifying the treatment modalities in a manner that reduces the probability of myelosuppression such as delaying elective diagnostic and therapeutic services, shortening the treatment course, or prolonging the interval between treatment courses.

Archives of Iranian medicine. 2020 Apr 01*** epublish ***

Ali Motlagh, Maisa Yamrali, Samira Azghandi, Payam Azadeh, Mohammad Vaezi, Farzaneh Ashrafi, Kazem Zendehdel, Hamidreza Mirzaei, Ali Basi, Afshin Rakhsha, Sharareh Seifi, Morteza Tabatabaeefar, Ahmad Elahi, Pouneh Pirjani, Leila Moadab Shoar, Faranak Nadarkhani, Mostafa Khoshabi, Massih Bahar, Fatemeh Esfahani, Hossein Fudazi, Farhad Samiei, Borna Farazmand, Azin Ahmari, Mojtaba Vand Rajabpour, Ghasem Janbabaei, Alireza Raisi, Afshin Ostovar, Reza Malekzadeh

National Cancer Control Secretariat, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran., Department of Radiation Oncology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Department of Hematology Oncology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Department of Radiation Oncology, Shaheed Beheshti Medical University, Tehran, Iran., Department of Hematology Oncology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran., Cancer Research Center, Cancer Institute of Iran, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Department of Hematology Oncology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Department of Hematology Oncology, Shaheed Beheshti Medical University, Tehran, Iran., Department of Surgery, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran., Ala Cancer Prevention and Control Center (MACSA), Tehran, Iran., Standard and Clinical Guidelines Department, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran., Department of Geospatial Information System (GIS), Center of Excellence in GIS, K.N. Toosi Uni. of Technology, Tehran, Iran., Behnam Daheshpour Charity Organization, Tehran, Iran., Iranian Society of Radiation Oncology, Tehran, Iran., Iranian Cancer Association, Tehran, Iran., Department of Radiation Oncology, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Ghouchan, Iran., Department of Radiation Oncology, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran., Department of Internal Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.