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Editorial
. 2020 Jul 7:14:ed103.
doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.ed103. eCollection 2020.

Negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cervical cancer patients in Zambia

Dorothy Lombe  1   2 , Misheck Phiri  3 , Susan Msadabwe  1
Affiliations
Editorial

Negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cervical cancer patients in Zambia

Dorothy Lombe et al. Ecancermedicalscience. .

Abstract

International travel has largely been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to this situation, Zambia has not been able to import radioactive isotopes for High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy, Iridium 192 (I192) and this has led to suspension of treatment for patients. Cancer of the cervix is the most common cancer in Zambia and brachytherapy is a core component of the treatment armamentarium. Mitigation strategies may include external beam radiotherapy boost or hysterectomy but both systems are overburdened and fragile.

Keywords: COVID-19; brachytherapy; cancer; cervix.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

References

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