How Has COVID-19 Changed Ovarian Cancer Care?
- Oncologists are generally trying to avoid changing ovarian cancer treatment protocols in any way that would change the overall outcome.
- Surgery is being delayed in some cases
- Since ovarian cancer is commonly diagnosed in older women, oncologists are thinking about ways to protect these patients from exposure to COVID-19
- Chemotherapy regiments may be adjusted so that women are getting treatments less often
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented changes across healthcare. People with cancer may be particularly vulnerable because some treatments — like chemotherapy — can compromise the immune system. When it comes to patients with ovarian cancer, Dr. Jocelyn Chapman, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of California – San Francisco, tells SurvivorNet that extra precautions may be necessary because patients do tend to be older adults. Still, oncologists are trying to avoid changes that could compromise treatment outcomes.
RELATED: Managing Ovarian Cancer Chemotherapy Side Effects
“We’ve been primarily thinking about the risks to our patients with respects to their age,” Dr. Chapman says. “So, we know ovarian cancer disproportionately affects women over the age of 55 to 60, and we also know that the virus is more dangerous for people in older age groups. So, just by definition of having a cancer diagnosis associated with an older age group, that’s a particular risk. Then immunocompromised is a big risk factor for our ability to fight off infections of any kind — so patients that are on chemotherapy, they are also at risk.”
With those risks being considered, Dr. Chapman says she and her colleagues are still trying to not alter treatment plans for patients where it’s not absolutely necessary.
“The virus has a certain short span. We’re expecting that within a year or two, we’ll have more community immunity, we’ll have vaccines, the public health community will have gotten a better handle on these things,” Dr. Chapman says. “But our patients with ovarian cancer, many of them will go several years [in treatment], so we’d prefer not to compromise their oncology outcomes.”
Still, there are some things that have changed in recent months since the pandemic began spreading, Dr. Chapman says.
“There is a type of chemotherapy that we generally give in-patient … other institutions have published protocols on how to deliver that kind of chemotherapy as an outpatient [procedure] and so we’ve been changing our protocol to accommodate outpatient administration,” Dr. Chapman says.
She also pointed out that some chemotherapy regiments that were given on a more frequent basis can have the doses adjusted. That way treatment can be given every few weeks, patients are visiting hospitals less frequently and treatment outcomes still remain the same.
Dr. Chapman did point out that when you adjust the dosing so that patients can get chemo less often, the side effects may be different — and a little more difficult to manage, depending on the patient.
The typical chemotherapy combination given to women with ovarian cancer tends to have side effects like fatigue, hair loss, nausea, GI issues and neuropathy — tingling in the hands and feet. But side effects can vary greatly from patient to patient. For many of these side effects, doctors can give you medications or supplement/lifestyle recommendations to offset some of the pain or discomfort. For example, medications can be given to prevent nausea before chemotherapy to offset any discomfort later.
Changes to the dosage and frequency of chemo will likely lead to some changes in the “cycle” of side effects.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Dr. Jocelyn Chapman is a board-certified gynecologic oncologist at UCSF. Read More
How Has COVID-19 Changed Ovarian Cancer Care?
- Oncologists are generally trying to avoid changing ovarian cancer treatment protocols in any way that would change the overall outcome.
- Surgery is being delayed in some cases
- Since ovarian cancer is commonly diagnosed in older women, oncologists are thinking about ways to protect these patients from exposure to COVID-19
- Chemotherapy regiments may be adjusted so that women are getting treatments less often
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented changes across healthcare. People with cancer may be particularly vulnerable because some treatments — like chemotherapy — can compromise the immune system. When it comes to patients with ovarian cancer, Dr. Jocelyn Chapman, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of California – San Francisco, tells SurvivorNet that extra precautions may be necessary because patients do tend to be older adults. Still, oncologists are trying to avoid changes that could compromise treatment outcomes.
RELATED: Managing Ovarian Cancer Chemotherapy Side Effects
Read More “We’ve been primarily thinking about the risks to our patients with respects to their age,” Dr. Chapman says. “So, we know ovarian cancer disproportionately affects women over the age of 55 to 60, and we also know that the virus is more dangerous for people in older age groups. So, just by definition of having a cancer diagnosis associated with an older age group, that’s a particular risk. Then immunocompromised is a big risk factor for our ability to fight off infections of any kind — so patients that are on chemotherapy, they are also at risk.”
With those risks being considered, Dr. Chapman says she and her colleagues are still trying to not alter treatment plans for patients where it’s not absolutely necessary.
“The virus has a certain short span. We’re expecting that within a year or two, we’ll have more community immunity, we’ll have vaccines, the public health community will have gotten a better handle on these things,” Dr. Chapman says. “But our patients with ovarian cancer, many of them will go several years [in treatment], so we’d prefer not to compromise their oncology outcomes.”
Still, there are some things that have changed in recent months since the pandemic began spreading, Dr. Chapman says.
“There is a type of chemotherapy that we generally give in-patient … other institutions have published protocols on how to deliver that kind of chemotherapy as an outpatient [procedure] and so we’ve been changing our protocol to accommodate outpatient administration,” Dr. Chapman says.
She also pointed out that some chemotherapy regiments that were given on a more frequent basis can have the doses adjusted. That way treatment can be given every few weeks, patients are visiting hospitals less frequently and treatment outcomes still remain the same.
Dr. Chapman did point out that when you adjust the dosing so that patients can get chemo less often, the side effects may be different — and a little more difficult to manage, depending on the patient.
The typical chemotherapy combination given to women with ovarian cancer tends to have side effects like fatigue, hair loss, nausea, GI issues and neuropathy — tingling in the hands and feet. But side effects can vary greatly from patient to patient. For many of these side effects, doctors can give you medications or supplement/lifestyle recommendations to offset some of the pain or discomfort. For example, medications can be given to prevent nausea before chemotherapy to offset any discomfort later.
Changes to the dosage and frequency of chemo will likely lead to some changes in the “cycle” of side effects.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Dr. Jocelyn Chapman is a board-certified gynecologic oncologist at UCSF. Read More
