Following protocols for treating cancer patients has proven difficult in the current scenario of the pandemic. A recently published article titled ‘COVID‑19 and Head and Neck Cancer Treatment’ in the journal Cancer Research, Statistics and Treatment, presented much-needed evidence-based guidance on the management of Head and Neck cancer patients in the present situation.

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The treatment of Head and Neck cancers, like most cancers, come with their own sets of urgency. And a steady increase in the number of COVID-19 cases has made it difficult to address the needs of non-COVID patients. However, given the high number of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cases in India and how most HNSCC cancers face the risk of disease progression, there was a pressing need to find better-suited routes to manage  treatments.

A review article by Patil V, Noronha V, Chaturvedi P, et al. in the journal Cancer Research, Statistics and Treatment presents slight tweaks in the standard practice for the treatment of Head and Neck cancer cases, keeping in mind the risks posed by COVID-19. The altered guidance presented in the review article is based on studied evidences and takes into consideration the existing standard guidelines, the immunosuppressive nature of the treatment, and the risk of infection and mortality due to COVID-19.