ArticleJCO global oncology2020
Patients With Cancer and COVID-19: A WhatsApp Messenger-Based Survey of Patients' Queries, Needs, Fears, and Actions Taken.
Article in JCO global oncology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 69 citations in OpenAlex.
- Counting the social, psychological, and economic costs of COVID-19 for cancer patients.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- COVID-19-related misinformation on social media: a systematic review.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2021Pooled it
- Delays and Disruptions in Cancer Health Care Due to COVID-19 Pandemic: Systematic Review.JCO global oncology · 2021Pooled it
- Other ways of communicating the pandemic - memes and stickers against COVID-19: a systematic review.F1000Research · 2021Pooled it
- Telehealth-Based Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review of Features and Challenges.Frontiers in public healthPooled it
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on the health care utilization of cancer patients.BMC cancer · 2023Trial
- Hybrid Care Modifications in the Delivery of Nonpandemic Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Using WhatsApp for Nutrition Surveillance Among Children Under 5 Years in West Java, Indonesia: Cross-Sectional Survey and Feasibility Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2025Article
- Providing geriatric oncology care using telemedicine for older patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico.Ecancermedicalscience · 2023Article
- Diagnosis and Management of Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Current problems in cancer · 2022Article
- Telehealth and COVID-19 Pandemic: An Overview of the Telehealth Use, Advantages, Challenges, and Opportunities during COVID-19 Pandemic.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Covid-19 and beyond: Broadening horizons about social media use in oncology. A survey study with healthcare professionals caring for youth with cancer.Health policy and technology · 2022Article
- Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on care of melanoma patients in Berlin, Germany: the Mela-COVID surveyEuropean journal of dermatology : EJD · 2022Article
- Melanoma care during one year pandemic in Berlin: decreasing appointment cancellations despite increasing COVID-19 concern.Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft = Journal of the German Society of Dermatology : JDDG · 2022Article
- Melanomversorgung während eines Jahres Pandemie in Berlin: abnehmende Terminstornierungen trotz zunehmender Besorgnis über COVID-19.Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft = Journal of the German Society of Dermatology : JDDG · 2022Article
- Article
- The Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on Healthcare Provision in Italy to non-COVID Patients: a Systematic Review.Mediterranean journal of hematology and infectious diseases · 2022Review
- Temporal Trends in Inpatient Oncology Census Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Rates of Nosocomial COVID-19 Among Patients with Cancer at a Large Academic Center.The oncologist · 2021Article
- COVID-19 and the multidisciplinary care of patients with lung cancer: an evidence-based review and commentary.British journal of cancer · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThis descriptive investigation was undertaken at three oncology units to report queries, needs, and fears related to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) of patients with cancer and to avoid uncontrolled treatment delays or withdrawal, behavioral mistakes, and panic. PATIENTS AND
methodsAll queries spontaneously delivered through the WhatsApp instant messaging system commonly used by patients to communicate with oncology units were collected and grouped by homology in five categories. Responses to the queries were given according to recommendations by the Italian Association of Medical Oncology through WhatsApp and by subsequent phone calls. Patients were also classified according to the site of the primary tumor, stage of disease, and current treatments. Analysis of the association between these data and queries was carried out.
resultsThe social scenario in Italy is a nationwide lockdown except for hospitals, pharmacies, and food supplies. Overall, 446 different patients' WhatsApp conversations were analyzed between March 1 and March 13 and comprised the following: requirement of visit delay by patients undergoing oral therapies or in follow-up, delays in chemotherapy or immunotherapy administration, queries about possible immunosuppression, and changes in lifestyle or daily activities. Delay requirements were statistically more frequent among patients with prostate or breast cancer compared with those with lung or pancreatic cancer. Actions taken by oncologists are also reported.
conclusionTo our knowledge, the WhatsApp instant messaging system has been occasionally used in other medical settings with controversial results. In our experience, WhatsApp turned out to be adequate to give a rapid answer to most queries from patients with cancer in the COVID-19 pandemic scenario.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.