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Older cancer patients are disproportionally affected by the Coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. A higher rate of death among the elderly and the potential for long-term disability have led to fear of contracting the virus in these patients. This fear can, paradoxically, cause delay in diagnosis and treatment that may lead to a poor outcome that could have been prevented. Thus, physicians should devise a policy that both supports the needs of older patients during cancer treatment, and serves to help them overcome their fear so they seek out to cancer diagnosis and treatment early. A combination of telemedicine and a holistic approach, involving prayers for older cancer patients with a high level of spirituality, may improve vaccination rates as well as quality of life during treatment. Collaboration between health care workers, social workers, faith-based leaders, and cancer survivors may be crucial to achieve this goal. Social media may be an important component, providing a means of sending the positive message to older cancer patients that chronological age is not an impediment to treatment.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Armenia. Over the past two decades, the country has seen a significant rise in cancer morbidity and mortality. This review aims to provide up-to-date info about the state of cancer control in Armenia and identify priority areas of research. The paper analyzes published literature and local and international statistical reports on Armenia and similar countries to put numbers into context. While cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment are improving, the prevalence of risk factors is still quite high and smoking is widespread. Early detection rates are low and several important screening programs are absent. Diagnosis and treatment methods are not standardized; there is a lack of treatment accessibility due to insufficient government coverage and limited availability of essential medicines. Overall, there is room for improvement in this sector, as research is limited and multidisciplinary approaches to the topic are rare.

BACKGROUND Central nervous system (CNS) tumors are the second most common malignant neoplasms among children worldwide. The current paper aims to analyze the situation in pediatric neuro-oncology in Armenia from the neurosurgical perspective. METHODS We have collected data of pediatric patients with CNS tumors treated in the Neurosurgery department of “Surb Astvasamayr” Medical Center from 01.01.2010 till 01.12.2019. Incidence by gender, age at diagnosis, and histopathology results were calculated. Survival rates were calculated based on the follow-up results performed until 30.12.2019. RESULTS Hospital-based data showed that during the previous 10 years 47 patients with CNS tumors received neurosurgical treatment in the unit, among them 66% were females. 38.3%, 31.9% and 29.8% of diagnosed patients were aged 0–4, 5–9, and 10–18 respectively. In 41 cases, the disease was not disseminated at diagnosis. The most common observed malignancies were low-grade gliomas (21.3%) and embryonal tumors (19.1%), followed by high-grade gliomas (14.9%) and ependymal tumors (8.5%). Follow-up information only for 33 patients is available. From them, 14 are dead and 19 alive. Survival rates in most common groups were 62.5%, 80%, 50%, and 50% respectively. The median follow-up time was 18 months (range 1–113 months). CONCLUSION Similar to the data reported in the literature, low-grade gliomas, and embryonal tumors are the most frequent pediatric CNS tumors in Armenia. On the other hand, the pediatric CNS tumor survival rates are lower compared to those reported in developed countries.

Summary Purpose To assess resources and management strategies for the use of radiotherapy (RT) in the treatment of lung cancer in developing Central and Eastern European countries. Materials/methods Questionnaires on patterns of care of NSCLC and SCLC were sent to radiation oncologists of Central and Eastern Europe. Comparisons were made between two groups of countries-ex-USSR states and other Eastern and Central European countries. Results Twenty-four out of twenty-eight surveyed countries responded. There were significant differences in access to modern treatment facilities (3D planning systems, number of linear accelerators), percentage of patients with lung cancer receiving radiotherapy, schedules of palliative RT, use of postoperative RT for early stages between both analysed groups of countries. 3D systems were in use in 25% of centres for an entire treatment, in 28% for a part of the treatment, and in 47% curative RT was 2D planned. Sequential chemo-RT was the most common approach to radical management of NSCLC, followed by RT alone and concomitant chemo-RT; median percentages of patients receiving respective treatments per centre were 57%, 30%, and 10%. For SCLC, the concurrent approach was declared by 56%, and the sequential approach by 42% of responders. Conclusions Patterns of care of lung cancer in the analysed countries differed in some part from existing, evidence-based data on lung cancer. In particular, this difference was observed between ex-USSR countries and the rest of European developing countries in the equipment available and specific diagnostic and treatment parameters in radiotherapy of lung cancer, the latter group's practices more resembling those of developed European countries.