Introduction — This topic includes links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world. We will update these links periodically; newer versions of some guidelines may be available on each society's website. Some societies may require users to log in to access their guidelines.
The recommendations in the following guidelines may vary from those that appear in UpToDate topic reviews. Readers who are looking for UpToDate topic reviews should use the UpToDate search box to find the relevant content.
Links to related guidelines are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: COVID-19 – Index of guideline topics".)
General guidance for managing cancer patients
●International
•World Health Organization (WHO): Interim recommendations for an extended primary series with an additional vaccine dose for COVID-19 vaccination in immunocompromised persons (2021)
•International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Guideline Harmonization Group (IGHG): Statement on COVID-19 for survivors of childhood, adolescent, or young adult cancer (2020)
•International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG): Recommendations on adapting care for older cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
●United States
•National Institutes of Health (NIH): COVID-19 treatment guidelines – Special considerations in adults and children with cancer (2022)
•American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO): A guide to cancer care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, update (2021)
•ASCO: Telehealth in oncology – Standards and practice recommendations (2021)
•Radiology Scientific Expert Panel: Multidisciplinary recommendations regarding post-vaccine adenopathy and radiologic imaging (2021)
•Return to school and COVID-19 vaccination for pediatric solid organ transplant recipients in the United States – Expert opinion for 2021-2022 (2021)
•American Brachytherapy Society (ABS): ABS statement on coronavirus (2020)
•American College of Surgeons (ACS): COVID-19 guidelines for triage of cancer surgery patients (2020)
•ACS: Guidelines for triage and management of elective cancer surgery cases during the acute and recovery phases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (2020)
•Society for Surgical Oncology (SSO): Resource for management options of peritoneal surface malignancies during COVID-19 (2020)
•US Food and Drug Administration (FDA): A message to patients with cancer and health care providers about COVID-19 (2020)
●Europe
•European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO): Guidelines on cancer patient management during the COVID-19 pandemic
•ESMO: Statements for vaccination against COVID-19 in patients with cancer (2020, updated 2021)
•European Society for Paediatric Oncology (SIOPE): A rapid review of evidence and recommendations to help mitigate for reduced paediatric radiotherapy capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic or other crises (2020)
●United Kingdom
•National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE): COVID-19 rapid guideline – Delivery of systemic anticancer treatments (2020, updated 2022)
•Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI), Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons (AUGIS), Royal College of Radiologists (RCR), Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd), Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England), Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (RCPSG), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI): Intercollegiate guidance for pre-operative chest CT imaging for elective cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
●Australia–New Zealand)
•New South Wales (NSW) Health: COVID-19 (coronavirus) for clinicians (2023)
•Managing haematology and oncology patients during the COVID-19 pandemic – Interim consensus guidance (2020)
Guidance for specific cancers
Breast cancer
●International
•International guidelines on radiation therapy for breast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
●United States
•Society of Breast Imaging (SBI): Revised recommendations for the management of axillary adenopathy in patients with recent COVID-19 vaccination (2022)
•American College of Surgeons (ACS): COVID-19 guidelines for triage of breast cancer patients (2020)
•American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS): Resource guide to endocrine therapy in the COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
•ASBrS and American College of Radiology (ACR): Joint statement on breast screening exams during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
•COVID-19 Pandemic Breast Cancer Consortium: Considerations for re-entry (2020)
•COVID-19 Pandemic Breast Cancer Consortium: Recommendations for prioritization, treatment, and triage of breast cancer patients during the COVID‑19 pandemic (2020)
•Society for Surgical Oncology (SSO): Resource for management options of breast cancer during COVID-19 (2020)
●Europe
•European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO): Management and treatment adapted recommendations in the COVID-19 era – Breast cancer (2020)
Colorectal cancer
●International
•International expert consensus statement regarding radiotherapy treatment options for rectal cancer during the COVID 19 pandemic (2020)
●United States
•American College of Surgeons (ACS): COVID-19 guidelines for triage of colorectal cancer patients (2020)
•Society for Surgical Oncology (SSO): Resource for management options of colorectal cancer during COVID-19 (2020)
●Europe
•European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO): Management and treatment adapted recommendations in the COVID-19 era – Colorectal cancer (2020)
●United Kingdom
•Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI), British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG), and British Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (BSGAR): Joint considerations for adapting the rapid access colorectal cancer pathway during COVID-19 pandemic (2020, updated 2021)
Endocrine and neuroendocrine cancers
●International
•Practical recommendations for the management of patients with gastroenteropancreatic and thoracic (carcinoid) neuroendocrine neoplasms in the COVID-19 era (2021)
●Canada
•North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS): Position statement – COVID-19 vaccination for NEN patients (2021)
●United States
•North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS): Position statement – COVID-19 vaccination for NEN patients (2021)
•Society for Surgical Oncology (SSO): Resource for management options of endocrine/head and neck cancer during COVID-19 (2020)
●United Kingdom
•British Thyroid Association (BTA)/Society for Endocrinology (SfE): Advice for patients with thyroid cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
•UK and Ireland Neuroendocrine Tumour Society (UKINETS): COVID-19 pandemic strategy for the interim management of patients with neuroendocrine tumours/neuroendocrine cancer (2020)
Gastrointestinal non-colorectal cancer
●International
•International Liver Cancer Association (ILCA): Guidance for the management of HCC during COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
•Strategies for care of patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor or soft tissue sarcoma during COVID‐19 pandemic – A guide for surgical oncologists (2020)
●United States
•American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD): Expert panel consensus statement on clinical best practice advice for hepatology and liver transplant providers during the COVID‐19 pandemic (2020)
•Society for Surgical Oncology (SSO): Resource for management options of GI and HPB cancers during COVID-19 (2020)
●Europe
•European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO): Management and treatment adapted recommendations in the COVID-19 era – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (2020)
•ESMO: Management and treatment adapted recommendations in the COVID-19 era – Pancreatic cancer (2020)
●United Kingdom
•British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG): Best practice document – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020, updated 2021)
●India
•Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL): Practical recommendations for the management of hepatocellular carcinoma in the era of COVID‑19 (2020)
●Australia–New Zealand
•Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL): Practical recommendations for the management of hepatocellular carcinoma in the era of COVID‑19 (2020)
●Japan
•Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL): Practical recommendations for the management of hepatocellular carcinoma in the era of COVID‑19 (2020)
Issues related liver transplantation are discussed separately. (See "Society guideline links: COVID-19 – Solid organ transplantation".)
Gynecological cancer
●United States
•American College of Surgeons (ACS): COVID-19 guidelines for triage of gynecology patients (2020)
•Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO): Clinical practice statement – Anti-cancer therapy and clinical trial considerations for gynecologic oncology patients during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis (2020)
•SGO: Gynecologic oncology considerations during the COVID-19 pandemic – Recommendations (2020)
●United Kingdom
•Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)/British Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (BSCCP): Colposcopy guidance during COVID-19 pandemic (2021)
•RCOG/BGCS: Guidance for care of patients with gynaecological cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic (2021)
•RCOG, British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy (BSGE), and BGCS: Guidance for the management of abnormal uterine bleeding in the evolving coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (2020)
Head and neck cancer
●International
•Recommendations for head and neck surgical oncology practice in a setting of acute severe resource constraint during the COVID-19 pandemic – An international consensus (2020)
●Canada
•Canadian Association of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology (CAHNSO): Recommendations for the management of head and neck cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
●United States
•American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)-European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO): Consensus statement – Practice recommendations for risk-adapted head and neck cancer radiation therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
•Head and neck surgical oncology in the time of a pandemic – Subsite-specific triage guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
•Society for Surgical Oncology (SSO): Resource for management options of endocrine/head and neck cancer during COVID-19 (2020)
●Europe
•American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)-European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO): Consensus statement – Practice recommendations for risk-adapted head and neck cancer radiation therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
Sarcoma
●International
•Strategies for care of patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor or soft tissue sarcoma during COVID‐19 pandemic – A guide for surgical oncologists (2020)
●United States
•Society for Surgical Oncology (SSO): Resource for management options of sarcoma during COVID-19 (2020)
●Europe
•European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO)-European Reference Network (ERN) on Rare Adult Solid Cancers (EURACAN): Management and treatment adapted recommendations in the COVID-19 era – Sarcomas (2020)
•Sarcoma European and Latin American Network (SELNET): Recommendations on prioritization in sarcoma care during the COVID‐19 pandemic (2020)
Skin cancer
●United States
•Society for Surgical Oncology (SSO): Resource for management options of melanoma during COVID-19 (2020)
●Europe
•European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO): Management and treatment adapted recommendations in the COVID-19 era – Melanoma (2020)
Thoracic cancer
●International
•International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC): Treatment guidance for patients with lung cancer during the coronavirus 2019 pandemic (2020)
●United States
•American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST): Expert panel report for the management of lung nodules and lung cancer screening during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
•American College of Surgeons (ACS): COVID-19 guidelines for triage of thoracic cancer patients (2020)
•European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO)-American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO): Consensus statement – Practice recommendations for lung cancer radiotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
•Thoracic Surgery Outcomes Research Network: COVID-19 guidance for triage of operations for thoracic malignancies (2020)
●Europe
•European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO): Management and treatment adapted recommendations in the COVID-19 era – Lung cancer (2020)
•European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO)-American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO): Consensus statement – Practice recommendations for lung cancer radiotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
●United Kingdom
•British Thoracic Society (BTS): Lung cancer and mesothelioma service guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic – The restoration and recovery COVID-19 endemic phase, version 2.4 (2020)
Urological cancer
●Canada
•Canadian recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic – Prioritizing systemic therapies for genitourinary malignancies (2020)
•Canadian Urologic Oncology Group (CUOG) and Canadian Urological Association (CUA): A Canadian framework for managing prostate cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic – Recommendations (2020)
●United States
•Prostate cancer radiation therapy recommendations in response to COVID-19 (2020)
●Europe
•European Association of Urology (EAU): COVID-19 recommendations by EAU guidelines panels (2020)
●United Kingdom
•Prostate cancer radiation therapy recommendations in response to COVID-19 (2020)
Resources for patients — The following links provide resources about COVID-19 for non-clinicians. These resources come from select society and government-sponsored guidelines from several countries and regions around the world.
●[International] North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS): COVID-19 resource page – Resources for NET patients, families, and caregivers
●[Canada] Kidney Cancer Canada: COVID-19 and cancer patients
●[United States] American Cancer Society (ACS): Coronavirus, COVID-19, and cancer
●[United States] American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO): COVID-19 resources for people with cancer
●[United States] Children's Oncology Group (COG): COVID-19 and your child, teen, or young adult with cancer
●[United States] College of American Pathologists (CAP): COVID-19 information – For patients
●[United States] Foundation for Women's Cancer: COVID-19 – Considerations for gynecologic cancer patients
●[United States] Oncology Nursing Society (ONS): ONS information regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) – Patient care and support resources
●[United States] National Cancer Institute (NCI): Coronavirus – What people with cancer should know
●[United States] US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncology Center of Excellence: A message to patients with cancer and health care providers about COVID-19
●[Europe] European Association of Urology (EAU): Patient information – Coronavirus COVID-19
●[Europe] European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO): Cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic – An ESMO guide for patients
●[Australia–New Zealand] Cancer Council Australia (CCA): Cancer and COVID-19
●[Australia–New Zealand] Myeloma Australia: Coronavirus (COVID-19) and myeloma
UpToDate also offers "The Basics" patient education pieces, which are written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate. These are written in plain language, at the 5th to 6th grade reading level, and answer the main questions a person is likely to have. (See "Patient education: COVID-19 overview (The Basics)" and "Patient education: COVID-19 and children (The Basics)" and "Patient education: COVID-19 and pregnancy (The Basics)" and "Patient education: COVID-19 vaccines (The Basics)".)
