Difficulties in Treating a Patient with Multiple Cancers in the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Difficulties in Treating a Patient with Multiple Cancers in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ioana Lupuşoru, Delia Ciobanu, Manuela Ursaru, Gheorghiţă G Bălan, Alexandru Grigorovici
Clinical case, no. 5, 2020
Article DOI: 10.21614/chirurgia.115.5.670
In the actual pandemic context, cancer patients are at additional risk, and protocols are always changing. We present the case of a 62-year-old patient who develops three types of cancer over four years and who was admitted to the hospital in the Emergency Room for hematemesis, melena, and abdominal pain.
We know from the pathological antecedents that he was operated in 2017 for a left scapular tumour (basal cell carcinoma). The current clinical examination reveals another right scapular tumour (malignant melanoma), and the hematemesis comes from a gastro-esophageal junction tumour (squamous cell carcinoma). SARS CoV2 infection changes the rules of treatment in such a case.

Thus, the patient is operated for the right scapular tumour, the gastrectomy being delayed due to the lung lesions given by SARS CoV2. Finally, the patient undergoes surgery for the gastric tumour, the RT-PCR retest being negative.

Keywords: COVID-19, basal cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma