The Management of a Comprehensive Cancer Center during the First Six Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the South of France: Lessons from the Paoli-Calmettes Institute’s Experience

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was rapidly established that cancer patients have an increased risk of developing severe forms of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) due to a backlog of cancer diagnostics and immunosuppressive treatments. Cancer centers had to quickly adapt to continue cancer therapies despite the high infection risks and major disruptions in the French healthcare system. We described and analyzed the impact of the pandemic in our institution: management adjustments, COVID-19 infection rates in patients and staff, and impacts on clinical activities and finances during the first wave of the pandemic from March to September 2020. We also compared the results to the clinical activity data from preceding periods. A crisis unit was rapidly created that met 27 times over 66 days, generating numerous changes in hospital protocol. While our area was devastated by the pandemic, the infection rate of our staff and patients remained low (less than 1.5