Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Radiation Oncology Departments in Brazil

The COVID-19 pandemic brought several challenges to cancer practice, especially in ensuring continuity of treatment during this period while minimizing the risks of transmission to a vulnerable population. For radiation oncology departments in Brazil, this contingency has become even more complex owing to the significant effect observed in different sectors of society and the large number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. This study estimated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Brazilian radiation oncology departments and the coping measures used in the country. The Brazilian Radiotherapy Society developed a questionnaire, with 14 questions, that were sent to all heads of radiation oncology departments in the country between May and June 2020. These data were evaluated regarding cases confirmed and deaths by COVID-19 in epidemiologic week 28, on July 11, 2020. One hundred twenty-six questionnaires from different regions were answered, representing 44% of the country’s services. A drop in the number of patients was observed in 61% of services. This drop was observed both in patients from the public and supplementary private health insurance systems. Regarding patients and employees with COVID-19, we observed that services that primarily treat Unified Health System patients reported significantly fewer cases of the disease. About half of the services had collaborators and patients during radiation therapy with a positive diagnosis of COVID-19. Among the coping measures, the services used intensified hygiene and cleanliness practices, interpersonal distancing, restrictions on access to companions, and other changes in daily practice. Thus, there was an important drop in the number of radiation therapy patients in the country during the pandemic, and this effect was similar among the services, regardless of the characteristics of the patients and the departments’ coping measures adopted during the pandemic.