Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Pediatric Cancer Care

Corona viruses are single stranded enveloped RNA viruses with helical capsids. They infect wide variety of hosts including humans and animals. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first described in December 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province. A novel corona virus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified as the causative organism. On 30 Jan 2020, WHO declared COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Subsequently on 11 March 2020, WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic. On April 30, 2020; 3,239,220 confirmed cases were diagnosed across the globe with 228,860 deaths. The united states has the highest number of cases followed by spain and Italy. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Egypt was reported on 14 February 2020. As of April 30, 2020, there have been 5,537 confirmed cases, 1381 recovered and 392 deaths The overall global incidence of cancers in children aged 0-14 years is 140·6 per million, whereas, It's 130.9 per million in Egypt. Although cancer is a rare disease among children and adolescent, It's one of the leading causes of death. The prognosis of childhood cancer has significantly improved over the past decades with 5-year survival rates improved from 58% in the mid-1970 to around 83% in 2008-2014.

Little is known about the effects of COVID-19 on children with cancer. Children with cancer face numerous challenges during COVID-19 pandemic. Children with cancer are immunocompromised because of cancer or anti-cancer therapy. They have to be hospitalized to receive their anti-cancer therapy. The major problem we-as pediatric oncologist- face nowadays is how to organize pediatric cancer care in the COVID-19 ERA.