The management of breast cancer patients amidst the COVID-19 situation is a new challenge. Aside from the risk of cancer patients contracting the infection, doctors worry about them not receiving the scheduled treatment. So what should you do? A paper titled ‘Systemic Therapy for Breast Cancer during SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic’ provides answers in the form of recommendations.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has created unforeseen circumstances for cancer patients and clinicians alike. In the absence of any evidence-based data specifically for breast cancer patients, the management of their impending treatment or surgery puts clinicians in a dilemma. Addressing the problem, authors Chellapuram SK and Gogia A, in their paper titled ‘Systemic Therapy for Breast Cancer during SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic’ provide recommendations that can be adopted as a strategy for the care of breast cancer patients.

The paper points at a retrospective study in patients of advanced age with cancer and other comorbidities, which shows a mortality rate of 28.6% among such patients and the fact that some contracted COVID-19 within just two weeks of undergoing treatment for their cancer. To prevent this, the authors have identified solutions based on consensus and expert opinions, which can especially work in the Indian setting.