[Comment] Ethical and practical considerations on cancer recommendations during COVID‑19 pandemic

Melidis,Christos; Vantsos,Miltiadis

doi:10.3892/mco.2020.2075

[Comment] Ethical and practical considerations on cancer recommendations during COVID‑19 pandemic

Authors:
- Christos Melidis
- Miltiadis Vantsos
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Affiliations: Radiation Therapy Department, 20200 Bastia, France, Faculty of Theology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Published online on: June 24, 2020 https://doi.org/10.3892/mco.2020.2075
Article Number: 5

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Abstract

National and international authorities and societies have recently published important cancer treatment recommendations in order to propose extra measures that should be taken during the COVID‑19 pandemic, such as prioritisation of intend‑to‑cure treatments and younger patients, omission of non‑urgent cases, and reduction of personnel present. These measures raise important ethical considerations, since they prioritise protection of Health Systems and Professionals without seemingly taking cancer patient feelings of stress into consideration. This could lead to an erosion of the physician‑patient relationship, which is considered the core element of medical ethics. Moreover, they raise practical concerns about the continuous education of Health Professionals, the status of reference centres and the evaluation of the hitherto cancer treatments.

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