How does COVID-19 fear and anxiety affect chemotherapy adherence in patients with cancer.

Aim: To investigate how COVID-19 fear and anxiety (COV-FA) affects chemotherapy adherence in patients with cancer. Materials & methods: The records of 3661 patients with chemotherapy (CT) appointments were retrospectively reviewed. Results: The CT postponement rates before and after COVID-19 were 11.6% and 14.2%, respectively (p = 0.017). The rate of COV-FA-related CT postponement after telemedicine was lower than that before (4.6% vs 17.4%; p = 0.012). The median time to come back to treatment of the COV-FA group was 47 days (range 19-72 days). Advanced age (≥60 years) was found to be the independent factor that was predictive of time to come back to treatment (p = 0.043). Conclusion: The CT postponement rate increased after COVID-19. COV-FA-related CT postponement decreased after telemedicine. Advanced age could be predictive of time to come back to treatment.

Citation

Cengiz Karacin, Irem Bilgetekin, Fatma B Basal, Omur B Oksuzoglu. How does COVID-19 fear and anxiety affect chemotherapy adherence in patients with cancer. Future oncology (London, England). 2020 Oct;16(29):2283-2293

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PMID: 32677462

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