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Care of immunocompromised patients with head and neck cancer during the COVID ‐19 pandemic: Two challenging and informative clinical cases
Author(s) -
Civantos Alyssa M.,
Carey Ryan M.,
Lichtenstein Gary R.,
Lukens John N.,
Cohen Roger B.,
Rassekh Christopher H.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.26165
Subject(s) - medicine , pandemic , head and neck cancer , head and neck , covid-19 , intensive care medicine , cancer , surgery , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Background and Methods There is an added level of complexity in the management of head and neck cancer patients with underlying immunosuppressive disorders during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Head and neck oncologists are tasked with balancing the dual risks of cancer progression in the setting of impaired tumor immunity and increased susceptibility to life‐threatening complications from exposure to viral infection for patients and providers. Through two cases of immunocompromised patients with newly diagnosed head and neck malignancies, we aim to provide guidance to clinicians struggling with how to best counsel and manage this unique subset of patients under these difficult circumstances. Results After careful consideration of the options, we took different approaches in the care of these two patients. Conclusions Ultimately, there is no uniform set of rules to apply to this heterogeneous group of immunocompromised patients. We provide some general principles to help guide patient management during the current pandemic.