The Armed Conflict and the Impact on Patients With Cancer in Ukraine: Urgent Considerations
Christian Caglevic, Christian Rolfo, Ignacio Gil‐Bazo, Andrés F. Cardona, J Sapunar, Fred R. Hirsch, David R. Gandara, Gilberto Morgan, Silvia Novello, Marina Chiara Garassino, Giannis Mountzios, Natasha B. Leighl, Denisse Bretel, Óscar Arrieta, Alfredo Addeo, Stephen V. Liu, Luis Corrales, Vivek Subbiah, Francisco Aboitiz, Franz Villarroel‐Espíndola, Felipe Reyes-Cosmelli, Ricardo Morales, Mauricio Mahave, Luis E. Raez, Jorge Alatorre, Edgardo S. Santos, Luis Ubillos, Daniel S.W. Tan, Christoph Zielinski
Abstract
On February 24, 2022, a war began within the Ukrainian borders. At least 3.0 million Ukrainian inhabitants have already fled the country. Critical infrastructure, including hospitals, has been damaged. Children with cancer were urgently transported to foreign countries, in an effort to minimize interruption of their life-saving treatments. Most adults did not have that option. War breeds cancer-delaying diagnosis, preventing treatment, and increasing risk. We project that a modest delay in care of only 4 months for five prevalent types of cancer will lead to an excess of over 3,600 cancer deaths in the subsequent years. It is critical that we establish plans to mitigate that risk as soon as possible.