Covid-19 and radiotherapy: a systematic review after 2 years of pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: Following the Covid-19 pandemic spread, changes in clinical practice were necessary to limit the pandemic diffusion. Also, oncological practice has undergone changes with radiotherapy (RT) treatments playing a key role. Although several experiences have been published, the aim of this review is to summarize the current evidence after 2 years of pandemic to provide useful conclusions for clinicians. Methods: A Pubmed/MEDLINE and Embase systematic review was conducted. The search strategy was “Covid AND Radiotherapy” and only original articles in the English language were considered. Results: A total of 2.733 papers were obtained using the mentioned search strategy. After the complete selection process, a total of 281 papers were considered eligible for the analysis of the results. Discussion: RT has played a key role in Covid-19 pandemic as it has proved more resilient than surgery and chemotherapy. The impact of the accelerated use of hypofractionated RT and telemedicine will make these strategies central also in the post-pandemic period.