Preventive Measures and Adequate Management of Cancer Patients in Times of COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction: Cancer patients are more likely to contract coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to the fragility that the disease and its treatment cause. The most important measure during the pandemic is prevention against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in order to not interrupt cancer treatment or worsen the prognosis of these patients. Objective: To high light information that contributes to strengthen COVID-19 prevention actions and adequate management of cancer patients in times of pandemic. Method: An integrative literature review was carried out with searches in the databases of the Virtual Health Library and Google Scholar. They were crossed with the Boolean operator and the descriptors in Portuguese and in English, “neoplasms”, “disease prevention”, “coronavirus” and “pandemics”. Inclusion criteria were full articles, published and available in full. Exclusion criteria: irrelevance to the theme and paid access. Eventually, 26 publications were identified and 17 were selected. Results: Most publications found that prevention measures include staying at home, hands and objects hygiene, dissemination of knowledge on how to prevent COVID-19. In addition to limit patients in hospital settings, modify treatment modalities to reduce the likelihood of myelosuppression and postpone surgical intervention for benign tumors. Conclusion: The adoption of specific measures and management for cancer patients reduces the possibility of infection by SARS-CoV-2 through practices as: individual hygiene and protection measures, avoiding agglomerations, remote medicine, alternative treatments and postponement of surgical interventions.