COVID-19 and radiotherapy: The ordeal faced by patients and staff during the pandemic in the 1st year

Abstract

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has also had a profound impact on cancer treatment delivery and organization. Oncology clinics have developed a number of procedures and used formulas related to radiotherapy doses to continue their activities. Aims and Objectives: We explored the impact of SARS-CoV-2 pandemy on the personnel and cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy in a radiotherapy department during the first year. Materials and Methods: 845 patients were treated over the course of a year, 195 of whom consented to participate in the study. The Elekta Mozoiq system and radiotherapy cards were evaluated, and the time intervals between the treatments during the radiotherapy were recorded. Biologically Effective Dose losses were calculated in the radiotherapy dose due to the interruption to treatment, and necessary calculations were made for the delivery of the initially planned dose. Results: The mean age of the patients was 59 years (range 19-78). There were 110 male (56.4%) and 85 female (43.5%) participants. The treatment of 4.6% (9 patients) of the patients was discontinued because of SARS-CoV-2 infection during radiotherapy. The greatest added fraction for a patient with prostate cancer was three while the lowest was one for a patient with lung cancer, based on the TDF calculation. During this period, 16% of the staff was infected with COVID-19. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the effect of the COVID-19 pandemy on patients and personnel in a radiotherapy clinic, and its management during one year.