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23-07-2020 | Lung cancer | News

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Lung cancer COVID-19 guidance available

Author: Lynda Williams

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medwireNews: Two sets of guidance on the care of lung cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic have been issued.

Charu Aggarwal, from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA, and co-authors propose in JCO Oncology Practice that the “general principles of lung cancer treatment continue to be followed in most cases where delays could result in rapid cancer progression.”

The team details a recommended “workflow to standardize the delivery of multidisciplinary care” for patients with non-small-cell and small-cell lung cancer and neuroendocrine tumors, covering topics ranging from diagnosis to the management of metastatic disease.

“It is critical for physicians to understand the rapidly changing local conditions and available resources as well as risks and benefits of various treatments and their implications for patients, staff and hospital systems,” they write.

The second guidance is reported in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology by Chandra Belani, from Penn State Cancer Institute in Hershey, USA, and co-workers. They review the diagnosis of COVID-19 in lung cancer patients, including use of imaging, and the best approaches for managing lung cancer therapy around the infection.

Advice includes minimizing face-to-face patient visits, screening for COVID-19 symptoms at hospital visits, and testing for the virus before invasive procedures or systemic treatment. The researchers also recommend that where possible “clinical trial enrollment should continue with reasonable modifications.”

medwireNews is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare. © 2020 Springer Healthcare part of the Springer Nature Group

23 July 2020: The coronavirus pandemic is affecting all healthcare professionals across the globe. Medicine Matters’ focus, in this difficult time, is the dissemination of the latest data to support you in your research and clinical practice, based on the scientific literature. We will update the information we provide on the site, as the data are published. However, please refer to your own professional and governmental guidelines for the latest guidance in your own country.

JCO Oncol Pract 2020; doi:10.1200/OP.20.00286
J Thorac Oncol 2020; 15: 1119–1136

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