Khalifeh Yara Ibrahim, Tfayli Arafat Hussein
Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
Turk Thorac J. 2021 Mar;22(2):163-168. doi: 10.5152/TurkThoracJ.2021.20110. Epub 2021 Mar 1.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. As this disease continues to spread worldwide, it has posed enormous challenges on the healthcare of several diseases, especially cancer, because hospital facilities have invested health resources for patients with COVID-19. Indeed, patients with lung cancer are particularly vulnerable because of their poor baseline lung function and cancer-related treatment. In addition, once infected, they are at an increased risk of pulmonary complications from COVID-19. Oncologists are thus facing a challenge as how to balance the treatment plans to control the disease while protecting the patients with lung cancer from COVID-19. In fact, it is crucial to provide individualized treatment recommendations to limit the risks during these difficult times. This review highlights the key challenges that oncologists face when diagnosing COVID-19 among patients with lung cancer and examines the current recommendations from available literature, clinical expertise, and expert opinions regarding managing lung cancer in the era of COVID-19. It also explores the treatment approach recommended for patients with lung cancer while avoiding putting them at excessive risk of contracting COVID-19 infection.
2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）由严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）引起，已被世界卫生组织宣布为大流行病。随着这种疾病在全球范围内持续传播，它给包括癌症在内的多种疾病的医疗保健带来了巨大挑战，因为医院设施已将医疗资源投入到COVID-19患者身上。事实上，肺癌患者因其基线肺功能较差以及与癌症相关的治疗而特别脆弱。此外，一旦感染，他们因COVID-19出现肺部并发症的风险会增加。因此，肿瘤学家面临着如何平衡治疗方案以控制疾病，同时保护肺癌患者免受COVID-19感染的挑战。实际上，在这些困难时期提供个性化的治疗建议以降低风险至关重要。本综述强调了肿瘤学家在诊断肺癌患者中的COVID-19时面临的关键挑战，并审视了现有文献、临床专业知识以及关于COVID-19时代肺癌管理的专家意见所给出的当前建议。它还探讨了为肺癌患者推荐的治疗方法，同时避免使他们面临感染COVID-19的过高风险。
