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Review
. 2023 Jan 13;11(2):248.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare11020248.

Cancer Patients during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mini-Review

Maryam Linjawi  1 , Hira Shakoor  1 , Serene Hilary  1 , Habiba I Ali  1 , Ayesha S Al-Dhaheri  1 , Leila Cheikh Ismail  2   3 , Vasso Apostolopoulos  4 , Lily Stojanovska  1   4
Affiliations
Review

Cancer Patients during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mini-Review

Maryam Linjawi et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Since its emergence, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected the entire world and all commerce and industries, including healthcare systems. COVID-19 adversely affects cancer patients because they are immunocompromised. Increased COVID-19 infection and shortage of medical supplies, beds and healthcare workers in hospitals affect cancer care. This paper includes a description of the existing research that shows the impact of COVID-19 on the management of cancer patients. Aged people with various chronic conditions such as cancer and comorbidities face more challenges as they have a greater risk of disease severity. COVID-19 has affected care delivery, including patient management, and has been responsible for increased mortality among cancer patients. Cancer patients with severe symptoms require regular therapies and treatment; therefore, they have a higher risk of exposure. Due to the risk of transmission, various steps were taken to combat this disease; however, they have affected the existing operational efficiency. Herein, we present the changing priorities during COVID-19, which also affected cancer care, including delayed diagnosis, treatment, and surgeries.

Keywords: COVID-19; cancer; immunity; patient care; vaccine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of cancer and COVID-19 on immunity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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