Call for ensuring cancer care continuity during COVID-19 pandemic

On 11 March 2020, WHO declared the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to be a pandemic, and the related syndrome was then named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As of 6 April 2020, 1 211 203 confirmed cases and 67 596 deaths have been recorded worldwide, Italy being one of the worst affected countries so far. Frail patients, such as elderly people or those with underlying conditions, are at higher risk of complications related to COVID-19.1 The burden of SARS-CoV-2 infection among patients with cancer has not been established yet, but their potential immunocompromised state is of concern.2 Preliminary data suggest an increased risk of developing infection-related severe events (ie, admission to the intensive care unit, mechanical ventilation or death) in the case of antitumour treatment administration within two weeks before COVID-19 diagnosis. Therefore, the authors suggested that treatment strategies likely to cause immunosuppression should be avoided or retained at decreased dosages.3 The Italian directives for the management of onco-haematological patients on therapy during the …