Prioritization of Proton Patients in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Recommendations from The New York Proton Center

Prioritization of Proton Patients in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Recommendations from The New York Proton Center

Shaakir Hasan, Charles B. Simone, Robert H. Press, Arpit M. Chhabra, J. Isabelle Choi

It has been well documented from the early days of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic that patients with a diagnosis of cancer are not only at higher risks of contracting a COVID-19 infection but also at higher risks of suffering severe, and possibly fatal, outcomes from the infection. Given that the United States has the greatest number of positive coronavirus cases, it is likely that many, if not all, radiation oncology clinics will be faced with the challenge of safely balancing a patient‘s risk of contracting COVID-19, while under active radiation treatment, against their risk of cancer progression if treatment is delayed. To address this challenge, the New York Proton Center established an internal algorithm that considers treatment-related, tumor-related, and patient-related characteristics. Despite having suffered staff shortages due to illness, this algorithm has allowed the center to maintain patient treatment volumes while keeping the rate of COVID-19 infection low.

2020

proton therapy, COVID-19, patient prioritization

DOI: 10.14338/IJPT-20-00022.1

International Journal of Particle Therapy

Particle Therapy Co-operative Group

Nuclear and particle physics. Atomic energy. Radioactivity, Medical physics. Medical radiology. Nuclear medicine