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Impact of COVID-19 on medical treatment patterns in gynecologic oncology: a MITO group survey

Abstract

Objective COVID-19 is a global public health emergency. The increasing spread of COVID-19 presents challenges for the clinical care of patients with gynecological tumors. The Multicenter Italian Trials in Ovarian cancer and gynecologic malignancies (MITO) performed a survey to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical treatment of gynecological cancer, with a focus on chemotherapy and oral treatment with poly(ADP)-ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARP-i).

Methods The survey consisted of a self-administered online questionnaire, sent via email between November 2020 and January 2021 to all members of MITO group.

Results Forty-nine centers completed the questionnaire. The majority of respondents (83%) use screening tests to determine COVID-19 status in patients who were to undergo chemotherapy or oral medications. All respondents to our survey continued cancer therapy in patients who tested negative for COVID-19 during the pandemic. Seventy-three percent of respondents declared they stopped treatment with chemotherapy or PARP-i only after a positive swab and resumed therapy when negative tests were confirmed.

Conclusions COVID-19 positivity impacted patterns of treatment in patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer within the MITO group. Further investigations are needed to evaluate whether these modifications influence oncological clinical outcomes.

  • COVID-19
  • ovarian cancer
  • medical oncology

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request. Deidentified participant data are stored in San Raffaele Hospital archives and can be provided upon reasonable request by contacting the corresponding author (mangili.giorgia@hsr.it).

This article is made freely available for use in accordance with BMJ’s website terms and conditions for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic or until otherwise determined by BMJ. You may use, download and print the article for any lawful, non-commercial purpose (including text and data mining) provided that all copyright notices and trade marks are retained.

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