SIOG COVID-19 Working Group

The goal of the COVID-19 Working Group is to provide guidance for the management of cancer in older adults in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and to facilitate the conduct of research on this topic.

Activities and responsibilities

To provide guidance to healthcare professionals on the management of older patients with cancer in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
To issue advice on the prioritisation of anticancer treatments
To raise awareness on the challenges of managing cancer in older adults in the context of the outbreak
To generate opportunities for conducting research on these topics

July 2020 - The following guidelines "Adapting care for older cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: Recommendations from the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) COVID-19 Working Group" was published in the Journal of Geriatric Oncology (JGO).

Co-Chairs

Nicolò Matteo Luca Battisti, UK
Anna Mislang, Australia

Members

Riccardo Audisio (Sweden); Mahmood Alam (Australia); Etienne Brain (France); Clarito Cairo Jr (Philippines); Kwok Leung Cheung (UK); Giuseppe Colloca (Italy); Lisa Cooper (USA); Luiz Antonio Gil Jr(Brazil); Regina Gironés Sarrió (Spain); Michael Jaklitsch (USA); Kumud Kantilal (UK); Stuart Lichtman (USA); Anita O'Donovan (Ireland); Shane O'Hanlon (Ireland); Chara Russo (France); Schroder Sattar (Canada); Enrique Soto (Mexico); Reinhard Stauder (Austria); Hans Wildiers (Belgium); Grant Williams (USA).

Experts Reports/Works

Treating elderly cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic
Dr Anna Mislang speaks to ecancer about the SIOG COVID-19 working group’s report and discussion of ethical issues revolving around treatment of cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Mislang initially talks about the aims and objectives of the working group and then explains in detail their report. She covers all the aspects of cancer care and treatment and how they need to be changed in certain ways to meet the challenges created by the COVID-19 situation.
Dr Mislang winds it up in the end by talking about the future of geriatric oncology in terms of the “new normal” and says that SIOG is committed to improving the care of older adults with cancer.

Anna Mislang, co-chair of the COVID-19 Working Group, spoke for ESMO covering the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management of cancer in older adults. In this video, Anna Mislang outlines that COVID-19 is an additional competing factor of mortality and morbidity to be considered in decision-making for this population and a number of strategies to mitigate risks when pursuing systemic and local treatments. Anna Mislang also discusses the need for international collaborative research to elucidate outcomes in this population during the pandemic.

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SIOG COVID-19 Working Group