1720P - Experience in the provision of oncology services immediately after a major disaster

Background

On February 6, 2023, an earthquake occurred in Turkey that affected 11 provinces, many hospitals and millions of people. In Hatay, one of the provinces most affected by the earthquake, all 4 oncology centers in were partially or completely destroyed. So, a new unit was established in Dörtyol District Hospital, one of the few standing hospitals. On February 27, 2023, the first oncologist was assigned to the new oncology unit in Dörtyol Hospital. On 01 March 2023, the oncology outpatient clinic started to work and with the arrival of drugs, the first intravenous systemic anticancer treatment was administered on 03 March 2023. The aim of this abstract is to share our experience on how oncology services continue in the event of a major disaster.

Methods

In this abstract, the attempts made to provide oncology services after the earthquake in Hatay and the results of the first 100 patients followed in the new facility are summarized. The patients followed at the oncology outpatient clinic had their age, gender, primary diagnosis, and causes for admission retrospectively analysed.

Results

Between 01 and 10 March 2023, 100 patients applied to the oncology unit. A total of 62 of the patients were women. The median age of the group was 54. The most common diagnosis was breast cancer (N=46), followed by GIS (N=17) and lung (N=14) malignancies. The numbers of local, locoregional and metastatic diseases were 20, 33 and 47, respectively. Most common admission purpose was routine follow up (N=38), followed by scheduled systemic therapy (N=34). A total of 38 patients received systemic therapy while 9 had hormonotherapy and 3 had palliative treatment. Respectively, 5 patients were referred to different cities for PET scan, 3 patients for radiotherapy, and 7 patients due to the absence of drugs in the hospital.

Conclusions

Oncology is not a suitable field to delay or cancel active or palliative treatments. For this reason, it is inevitable to continue oncological services under all conditions, as has been seen in the recent COVID pandemic. On the other hand, due to the treatments applied, oncology centers have to meet some basic requirements in terms of infrastructure and work force. As in the Hatay experience, it is vital to take quick actions and ensure coordination after a disaster.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

The authors.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.