Quality of life of cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: narrative review

The rapidly spreading of COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of people,s daily lives around the world. It has negative impact on so-ciety, a matter of great concern, especially for cancer patients. They are at increased risk of complications and mortality from coronavirus infection due to cancer and its treatment. Along-side the clinical risk, attention should be also paid to the psychological risks of the pandemic, especially regarding the increase in emotional stress, anxiety, depression and loneliness in pa-tients. To date, there are only a limited number of studies examining the potential psychologi-cal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on can-cer patients. This narrative review synthesizes available findings including pandemic barriers to cancer care, as well as pandemic concerns and their subsequent psychosocial impact on quality of life in a particularly high-risk group of cancer patients. It highlights some of the care options for patients during the current pandemic, that can be used in case of future pandemics or in the post-pandemic period. An overview of these findings can provide a closer look of the psy-chological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of life of cancer patients and pro-vide a better understanding of their concerns and overall well-being.