Objective- To communicate interim guidelines to safely manage prostate cancer patients
Following are some of the recommendations for the management of prostate cancer patient during coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19):
- For castration resistant prostate cancer patients
- Chemotherapy (CT) should be deferred to a later date wherever possible.
- These patients should be considered for alternative therapies such as Abiraterone / Enzalutamide/ Ra223 etc.
- Stable patients on oral therapy (e.g. Abiraterone / Enzalutamide) should be given 3-month supply.
- Patients on Docetaxel need not to be checked in clinic every cycle. Two cycles can be confirmed on chemo care at a time.
- For castration sensitive prostate cancer patients
- Patients due to commence upfront Docetaxel CT for hormone sensitive prostate cancer patients should not start CT. They can continue with androgen deprivation until the services return to normal and the current COVID-19 has subsided.
References: Alonzi, R., Antoniou, G., Anyamene, N., et al. Guidance for treatment of uro-oncology patients during COVID-19 pandemic. Available from: https://www.rcr.ac.uk/sites/default/files/prostate-cancer-treatment-covid19.pdf. Accessed on May 7, 2020