European journal of cancer : official journal for European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) [and] European Association for Cancer Research (EACR)
-
A vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 might represent the most promising approach to halt durably the current COVID-19 pandemic. We believe that anti-CD20 therapy may jeopardise the efficacy of such a vaccine. This is regrettable because patients receiving anti-CD20 therapy (i.e. those with haematologic malignancies or autoimmune disorders) are particularly at risk of severe COVID-19 and, as such, are the most in need of a vaccine. Here, we review the reasons why anti-CD20 therapy may abrogate or diminish the efficacy of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 and we draw physicians' attention towards this potential risk so that it can be considered when evaluating the risk/benefit ratio of anti-CD20 therapy during the current pandemic.
-
Previous studies have suggested a more frequent and severe course of novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infection in cancer patients undergoing active oncologic treatment. Our aim was to describe the characteristics of the disease in this population and to determine predictive factors for poor outcome in terms of severe respiratory distress (acute respiratory distress syndrome [ARDS]) or death. ⋯ Cancer patients under active treatment admitted for SARS-CoV-2 infection have worse outcomes in terms of mortality and respiratory failure rates compared with COVID-19 global population. Lymphopenia, LDH, CRP and albumin discriminate illness severity, whereas neutropenia, bilateral infiltrates and tumour pulmonary involvement are predictive of higher mortality.
-
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a new virus that has never been identified in humans before. COVID-19 caused at the time of writing of this article, 2.5 million cases of infections in 193 countries with 165,000 deaths, including two-third in Europe. In this context, Oncology Departments of the affected countries had to adapt quickly their health system care and establish new organizations and priorities. ⋯ Obviously, while these cancer care recommendations are immediately applicable in Europe, they may not be applicable in certain emerging and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this review, we aimed to summarize these international guidelines in accordance with cancer types, making a synthesis for daily practice to protect patients, staff and tailor anti-cancer therapy delivery taking into account patients/tumour criteria and tools availability. Thus, we will discuss their applicability in the LMICs with different organizations, limited means and different constraints.
-
Comparative Study
High mortality rate in cancer patients with symptoms of COVID-19 with or without detectable SARS-COV-2 on RT-PCR.
Cancer patients presenting with COVID-19 have a high risk of death. In this work, predictive factors for survival in cancer patients with suspected SARS-COV-2 infection were investigated. ⋯ The 30-day death rate of cancer patients with or without documented SARS-COV-2 infection is poor, but the majority of deaths occur in RT-PCR-negative patients.
-
On February 23rd, the 1st case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection was diagnosed at the University Hospital Trust of Verona, Italy. On March 13th, the Oncology Section was converted into a 22-inpatient bed coronavirus disease (COVID) Unit, and we reshaped our organisation to face the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, while maintaining oncological activities. ⋯ A slight, but statistically significant reduction in oncology activity was registered during the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic peak in Verona, Italy. Organisational and protective measures adopted appear to have contributed to keep infections in both oncological patients and health professionals to a minimum.