Title: What may influence aged cancer patient survivorship in post-COVID-19 time?

Biography:

Janusz Kocik is an epidemiologist, internist and clinical oncologist. He works i.a. as an Associate Professor for School of Public Health in Center of Postgraduate Medical Education as well as in National Center for Nuclear Research. He has also a position In Gastrointestinal Oncology Dpt. in National Oncology Institute in Poland. Formerly he held a position of Director of Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology focusing on military preventive medicine and CBRN. His curent expertise and scientific interest is geriatric oncology but also highly dangerous emerging infectious diseases.

Abstract

Geriatric  cancer patients  are vulnerable to  any  disturbance in careful healthcare provision. For example, in Poland, still reforming its oncological care, mortality due to breast cancer raised abruptly in eldest female +85  from 2014 despite the incidence had risen in closely preceding years mainly in younger females, most rapidly in  65-69 age group (1). Also, we have observed that not only undertreatment of elder breast cancer patients may influence survival  (2). We postulate that geriatric cancer patients need, a not mainly standardized protocols for different modalities of concomitant treatment but also tailored and coordinated social and medical support. COVID-19 pandemic apparently interfered with healthcare performance. In early series of patients with hematologic malignancies and COVID-19, mortality was associated with higher age, more comorbidities, type of hematological malignancy and type of antineoplastic therapy (3). Mainly patients ≥60 with hematologic malignancy and COVID-19 had a high risk of dying, while pediatric patients were relatively spared and It was concluded that recent cancer treatment does not appear to significantly increased the risk of death.