Breast Medical Oncology in the Era of COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread over the majority of countries and it was declared as a pandemic on March 11th, 2020 by The World Health Organization. The number of infected people worldwide is still in progress. Patients diagnosed with cancer are a fragile population because of their chronic disease and related treatments, and therefore, requiring a particular management. Several international initiatives from scientific societies and working groups have provided updated guidance to improve the medical treatments of breast cancer. These recommendations aimed to mitigate the negative effects of this outbreak on prevention, diagnosis, and treatments. Notably, this should be used for prioritizing the various aspects of cancer care particularly breast cancer patients’ safety. In this editorial, we shortly review the current guidelines for breast cancer management during this pandemic and illustrate the available treatments that should be prioritized. We believe this paper will be useful for young oncologists and physicians dealing with this emerging life-threatening disease.