Journal of Radiation and Cancer Research, cilt.1, sa.1, ss.1-8, 2023 (Hakemli Dergi)
Background: The SARS‑CoV‑2 pandemic has also had a profound impact on
cancer treatment delivery and organization. Oncology clinics have developed
a number of procedures and used formulas related to radiotherapy doses to
continue their activities. Aims and Objectives: We explored the impact of SARSCoV-
2 pandemy on the personnel and cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy
in a radiotherapy department during the first year. Materials and Methods:
845 patients were treated over the course of a year, 195 of whom consented to
participate in the study. The Elekta Mozoiq system and radiotherapy cards were
evaluated, and the time intervals between the treatments during the radiotherapy
were recorded. Biologically Effective Dose losses were calculated in the
radiotherapy dose due to the interruption to treatment, and necessary calculations
were made for the delivery of the initially planned dose. Results: The mean age
of the patients was 59 years (range 19-78). There were 110 male (56.4%) and 85
female (43.5%) participants. The treatment of 4.6% (9 patients) of the patients was
discontinued because of SARS-CoV-2 infection during radiotherapy. The greatest
added fraction for a patient with prostate cancer was three while the lowest was
one for a patient with lung cancer, based on the TDF calculation. During this
period, 16% of the staff was infected with COVID-19. Conclusion: This study
demonstrates the effect of the COVID-19 pandemy on patients and personnel in a
radiotherapy clinic, and its management during one year.
Keywords: Cancer, COVID-19, pandemic, radiotherapy, biologically effective
dose