ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 pandemic has strained human and material resources around the world. Practices in surgical oncology had to change in response to these resource limitations, triaging based on acuity, expected oncologic outcomes, availability of supportive resources, and safety of health care personnel. METHODS: The MD Anderson Head and Neck Surgery Treatment Guidelines Consortium devised the following to provide guidance on triaging head and neck cancer (HNC) surgeries based on multidisciplinary consensus. HNC subsites considered included aerodigestive tract mucosa, sinonasal, salivary, endocrine, cutaneous, and ocular. RECOMMENDATIONS: Each subsite is presented separately with disease-specific recommendations. Options for alternative treatment modalities are provided if surgical treatment needs to be deferred. CONCLUSION: These guidelines are intended to help clinicians caring for patients with HNC appropriately allocate resources during a health care crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to advocate for individual consideration of cases in a multidisciplinary fashion based on individual patient circumstances and resource availability.
Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Head and Neck Neoplasms/surgery , Outcome Assessment, Health Care , Pandemics/statistics & numerical data , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Practice Guidelines as Topic/standards , Surgical Oncology/standards , Betacoronavirus , COVID-19 , Cancer Care Facilities , Communicable Disease Control/standards , Consensus , Coronavirus Infections/prevention & control , Female , Head and Neck Neoplasms/diagnosis , Humans , Male , Occupational Health , Pandemics/prevention & control , Patient Safety , Patient Selection , Pneumonia, Viral/prevention & control , SARS-CoV-2 , Triage/standards , United StatesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Immunotherapy plays a key role in the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Patients with autoimmune conditions and/or on immunosuppressive therapy due to orthotropic transplants, however, are systematically excluded from clinical trials. Talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) is the first oncolytic virus to be approved by the FDA for cancer therapy. To our knowledge, this is the first report of T-VEC being administered in the setting of an organ transplant recipient. CASE PRESENTATION: Here we present the case of a patient with recurrent locally advanced cutaneous melanoma receiving salvage T-VEC therapy in the setting of orthotropic heart transplantation. After 5 cycles of therapy, no evidence of graft rejection has been observed to date, and the patient achieved a complete remission, and is currently off therapy. CONCLUSION: This case advocates for further investigation on the safety and efficacy of immunotherapeutic approaches, such as T-VEC, in solid organ transplant recipients.
