Abstract
Aim: To investigate how COVID-19 fear and anxiety (COV-FA) affects chemotherapy adherence in patients with cancer. Materials & methods: The records of 3661 patients with chemotherapy (CT) appointments were retrospectively reviewed. Results: The CT postponement rates before and after COVID-19 were 11.6% and 14.2%, respectively (p = 0.017). The rate of COV-FA-related CT postponement after telemedicine was lower than that before (4.6% vs 17.4%; p = 0.012). The median time to come back to treatment of the COV-FA group was 47 days (range 19-72 days). Advanced age (≥60 years) was found to be the independent factor that was predictive of time to come back to treatment (p = 0.043). Conclusion: The CT postponement rate increased after COVID-19. COV-FA-related CT postponement decreased after telemedicine. Advanced age could be predictive of time to come back to treatment.
Keywords:
COVID-19; anxiety; cancer; chemotherapy adherence; fear; telemedicine.
MeSH terms
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Age Factors
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Aged
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Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
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Anxiety / epidemiology
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Anxiety / etiology
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Anxiety / psychology
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Anxiety / rehabilitation
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Betacoronavirus / immunology*
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Betacoronavirus / pathogenicity
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COVID-19
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Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology
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Coronavirus Infections / immunology
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Coronavirus Infections / psychology*
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Coronavirus Infections / transmission
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Fear / psychology
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Female
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Humans
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Infection Control / standards
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Male
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Medical Oncology / methods
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Medical Oncology / organization & administration
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Medical Oncology / standards
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Medication Adherence / psychology
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Medication Adherence / statistics & numerical data*
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Middle Aged
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Neoplasms / drug therapy*
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Neoplasms / immunology
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Neoplasms / psychology
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No-Show Patients / psychology
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No-Show Patients / statistics & numerical data
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Pandemics
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Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology
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Pneumonia, Viral / immunology
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Pneumonia, Viral / psychology*
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Pneumonia, Viral / transmission
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Psychometrics / statistics & numerical data
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Retrospective Studies
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SARS-CoV-2
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Self Report / statistics & numerical data
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Telemedicine / methods
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Telemedicine / organization & administration
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Telemedicine / standards