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March 22, 2021
2 min read
Source / Disclosures
Published by:
Interviewing at Healio
Disclosures:
Smith does not report any relevant financial disclosure.
The COVID-19 pandemic presents many challenges for health care and, in particular, cancer care. Patients with lung cancer have high rates of complications due to their underlying disease.
Healio spoke with Cardinale D. Smith, MD, PhD, Director of Quality of Cancer Services at Mount Sinai Health System and Associate Professor at Icahn School of Medicine, on the evolution of lung cancer care amid the COVID-19 pandemic and necessary healthcare adaptations to move forward and more.
Cardinal D. Smith
Healio: After one year of this pandemic, how has the care of patients with lung cancer adapted and evolved?
Black-smith: We continue to encourage lung cancer patients to follow all safety precautions, including frequent hand washing, wearing a mask and physical distancing. We encourage all of our lung cancer patients with no contraindication to the COVID-19 vaccine to get vaccinated with any vaccine as soon as it is available to them.
We have adopted treatments that can allow patients to reduce the number of visits to the cancer center for treatment (for example, 6 weeks versus 3 weeks for pembrolizumab). We have also switched to telehealth (video tours) for follow-up between infusions or for those taking stable oral agents.
Healio: What habits, procedures, protocols or adaptations do you plan to continue after the pandemic?
Black-smith: Telehealth will become a permanent part of lung cancer care and mask wear will be a mainstay of cancer management.
Healio: What advice would you give to clinicians counseling patients about the COVID vaccine?
Black-smith: According to guidelines published by the NCCN and ASCO, patients should receive the vaccine, any vaccine, whenever it is available. Although we do not know if patients with lung cancer on systemic treatment will have the same results with the vaccine, we believe they will benefit from some protection. Given the high risk of poor outcomes and death in lung cancer patients infected with COVID, this is especially important in encouraging reception of the vaccine.
Healio: What challenges have lung cancer specialists faced?
Black-smith: The uncertainty over what will happen in terms of COVID rates and trying to balance the quality of cancer treatment while trying to mitigate the risk of COVID infection.
Healio: What research is available on lung cancer and COVID and what more is needed?
Black-smith: We know the impact on lung cancer patients in terms of risk of death. We don’t know what the long-term complications are and how the infection interferes with treatment for lung cancer. In addition, we need a better understanding of the efficacy of the vaccine for lung cancer patients in general and those undergoing specific cancer treatments like radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Healio: What has been the impact of the pandemic on equity and access to care?
Black-smith: We have seen incredible disparities in cancer care during this pandemic. Access to care, in particular, timely screening and treatment for COVID; access to telehealth has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color.
Lung cancer center
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