Moslim MA, Hall MJ, Meyer JE, Reddy SS. Pancreatic cancer in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: Which one is the lesser of two evils? World J Clin Oncol 2021; 12(2): 54-60 [PMID: 33680873 DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v12.i2.54]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Sanjay S Reddy, FACS, MD, Attending Doctor, Department of Surgery, Fox Chase Cancer Center, 333 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111, United States. sanjay.reddy@fccc.edu
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Opinion Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Oncol. Feb 24, 2021; 12(2): 54-60 Published online Feb 24, 2021. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v12.i2.54
Pancreatic cancer in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: Which one is the lesser of two evils?
Maitham A Moslim, Michael J Hall, Joshua E Meyer, Sanjay S Reddy
Maitham A Moslim, Department of Surgical Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19111, United States
Michael J Hall, Department of Medical Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19111 , United States
Joshua E Meyer, Department of Radiation Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19111, United States
Sanjay S Reddy, Department of Surgery, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19111, United States
Author contributions: Moslim MA contributed to the study concept and design, drafted the manuscript; Moslim MA, Hall MJ, Meyer JE and Reddy SS contributed to the critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content; Moslim MA and Reddy SS did final approval of the submitted version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There are no conflicts of interest to be disclosed.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Sanjay S Reddy, FACS, MD, Attending Doctor, Department of Surgery, Fox Chase Cancer Center, 333 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111, United States. sanjay.reddy@fccc.edu
Received: December 25, 2020 Peer-review started: December 25, 2020 First decision: January 11, 2021 Revised: January 12, 2021 Accepted: February 4, 2021 Article in press: February 4, 2021 Published online: February 24, 2021
Abstract
Pancreatic adenocarcinoma remains one of the deadliest malignancies affecting the older population. We are experiencing a paradigm shift in the treatment of pancreatic cancer in the era of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Utilizing neoadjuvant treatment and further conducting a safe surgery while protecting patients in a controlled environment can improve oncological outcomes. On the other hand, an optimal oncologic procedure performed in a hazardous setting could shorten patient survival if recovery is complicated by COVID-19 infection. We believe that oncological treatment protocols must adapt to this new health threat, and pancreatic cancer is not unique in this regard. Although survival may not be as optimistic as most other malignancies, as caregivers and researchers, we are committed to innovating and reshaping the treatment algorithms to minimize morbidity and maximize survival as caregivers and researchers.
Core Tip: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma remains one of the deadliest malignancies affecting the older population; Oncological treatment protocols must adapt to the coronavirus disease 2019 era; Neoadjuvant treatment and further conducting a safe surgery while protecting patients in a controlled environment can improve oncological outcomes.
