• Dominic Fong, Katja Olga San Nicolò, Monika Alber, and Manfred Mitterer.
• Department of Oncology and Hematology, Franz Tappeiner Hospital, Rossinistraße 5, 39012, Merano, Italy. dominic.fong@i-med.ac.at.
• Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. 2021 Apr 1; 133 (7-8): 359-363.

BackgroundIt has been assumed that cancer patients, especially those undergoing chemotherapy, are at increased risk for infection and severe illness from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) compared to the general population. After the first alert message from the local healthcare service, a series of drastic measures were taken at our outpatient clinic to contain the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).MethodsIn this retrospective study, all consecutive cancer outpatients completed a baseline SARS-CoV‑2 test via real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from 15 March to 26 May 2020. In the later phase, after the peak of the pandemic, patients as well as healthcare workers were tested for anti-SARS-CoV‑2 IgG antibodies.ResultsBetween 15 March and 26 May 2020, 0.78% (N = 5/640) cancer patients tested positive for SARS-CoV‑2 by RT-PCR. Between 22 June and 17 July 2020, anti-SARS-CoV‑2 IgG antibodies were detected in 2 out of 250 (0.8%) cancer patients and 2 out of 36 (5.5%) healthcare workers. In only 1 out of 4 cancer patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection, could SARS-CoV‑2 antibodies be detected.ConclusionOur findings suggest that the majority of our patients and healthcare workers had not been infected with SARS-CoV‑2 and rapidly implemented measures were effective. Maintenance of preventive measures should be continued until vaccines or specific treatments are available.

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