COVID-19 in Immunocompromised Cancer Patients: A Case Series and Review of the Literature

Overview

Journal Cancer Control

Specialty Oncology

Date 2021 Sep 28

PMID 34579537

Citations 2

Authors

Raj H Patel

Rachana Vanaparthy

John N Greene

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The global pandemic of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has presented newfound challenges to the oncology community regarding management of disease progression in immunocompromised and cancer patients. Further, the large influx of COVID-19 patients has overwhelmed healthcare facilities, limited access to intensive care unit beds and ventilators, and canceled elective surgeries causing disruptions to the cancer care continuum and re-organization of oncological care. While it is known that the potential threat of infection is greatest in elderly patients (>60 years of age) and patients with underlying comorbidities, there is still insufficient data to determine the risk of COVID-19 in cancer patients. Given the immunosuppressive status in cancer patients arising from chemotherapy and other comorbidities, management of COVID-19 in this patient population carries a unique set of challenges. We report three cases of COVID-19 in immunocompromised cancer patients and discuss the challenges in preventing, diagnosing, and treating this vulnerable group.

Citing Articles

Cracking the code of a correlate of protection against SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection in cancer patients.

Debie Y, Garcia-Fogeda I, Willem L, Roelant E, Verbruggen L, Vanhoutte G Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):7858.

PMID: 40050359 PMC: 11885447. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-92254-8.

Humoral Response after SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Prostate Cancer Patients.

Blaszczuk A, Sikora D, Kis J, Stepien E, Drop B, Polz-Dacewicz M Vaccines (Basel). 2023; 11(4).

PMID: 37112682 PMC: 10144447. DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11040770.

Mortality of COVID-19 in patients with hematological malignancies versus solid tumors: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

Hardy N, Vegivinti C, Mehta M, Thurnham J, Mebane A, Pederson J Clin Exp Med. 2023; 23(6):1945-1959.

PMID: 36795239 PMC: 9933827. DOI: 10.1007/s10238-023-01004-5.

References

Berghoff A, Gansterer M, Bathke A, Trutschnig W, Hungerlander P, Berger J . SARS-CoV-2 Testing in Patients With Cancer Treated at a Tertiary Care Hospital During the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Clin Oncol. 2020; 38(30):3547-3554. PMC: 7571795. DOI: 10.1200/JCO.20.01442. View

Mato A, Roeker L, Lamanna N, Allan J, Leslie L, Pagel J . Outcomes of COVID-19 in patients with CLL: a multicenter international experience. Blood. 2020; 136(10):1134-1143. PMC: 7472711. DOI: 10.1182/blood.2020006965. View

Yang K, Sheng Y, Huang C, Jin Y, Xiong N, Jiang K . Clinical characteristics, outcomes, and risk factors for mortality in patients with cancer and COVID-19 in Hubei, China: a multicentre, retrospective, cohort study. Lancet Oncol. 2020; 21(7):904-913. PMC: 7259917. DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30310-7. View

Chen J, Qi T, Liu L, Ling Y, Qian Z, Li T . Clinical progression of patients with COVID-19 in Shanghai, China. J Infect. 2020; 80(5):e1-e6. PMC: 7102530. DOI: 10.1016/j.jinf.2020.03.004. View

El-Shakankery K, Kefas J, Crusz S . Caring for our cancer patients in the wake of COVID-19. Br J Cancer. 2020; 123(1):3-4. PMC: 7164408. DOI: 10.1038/s41416-020-0843-5. View

Ramachandran P, Kathirvelu B, Chakraborti A, Gajendran M, Zhahid U, Ghanta S . COVID-19 in Cancer Patients From New York City: A Comparative Single Center Retrospective Analysis. Cancer Control. 2020; 27(1):1073274820960457. PMC: 7791463. DOI: 10.1177/1073274820960457. View

Spicer J, Chamberlain C, Papa S . Provision of cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2020; 17(6):329-331. PMC: 7156894. DOI: 10.1038/s41571-020-0370-6. View

Zhang H, Han H, He T, Labbe K, Hernandez A, Chen H . Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of COVID-19-Infected Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2020; 113(4):371-380. PMC: 7665647. DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djaa168. View

Dinmohamed A, Visser O, Verhoeven R, Louwman M, van Nederveen F, Willems S . Fewer cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 epidemic in the Netherlands. Lancet Oncol. 2020; 21(6):750-751. PMC: 7252180. DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30265-5. View

10.

Passamonti F, Cattaneo C, Arcaini L, Bruna R, Cavo M, Merli F . Clinical characteristics and risk factors associated with COVID-19 severity in patients with haematological malignancies in Italy: a retrospective, multicentre, cohort study. Lancet Haematol. 2020; 7(10):e737-e745. PMC: 7426107. DOI: 10.1016/S2352-3026(20)30251-9. View

11.

Al-Shamsi H, Alhazzani W, Alhuraiji A, Coomes E, Chemaly R, Almuhanna M . A Practical Approach to the Management of Cancer Patients During the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic: An International Collaborative Group. Oncologist. 2020; 25(6):e936-e945. PMC: 7288661. DOI: 10.1634/theoncologist.2020-0213. View

12.

Ueda M, Martins R, Hendrie P, McDonnell T, Crews J, Wong T . Managing Cancer Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Agility and Collaboration Toward a Common Goal. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2020; :1-4. DOI: 10.6004/jnccn.2020.7560. View

13.

Zhang L, Zhu F, Xie L, Wang C, Wang J, Chen R . Clinical characteristics of COVID-19-infected cancer patients: a retrospective case study in three hospitals within Wuhan, China. Ann Oncol. 2020; 31(7):894-901. PMC: 7270947. DOI: 10.1016/j.annonc.2020.03.296. View

14.

Dai M, Liu D, Liu M, Zhou F, Li G, Chen Z . Patients with Cancer Appear More Vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2: A Multicenter Study during the COVID-19 Outbreak. Cancer Discov. 2020; 10(6):783-791. PMC: 7309152. DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-0422. View

15.

Sharpless N . COVID-19 and cancer. Science. 2020; 368(6497):1290. DOI: 10.1126/science.abd3377. View

16.

Li Q, Guan X, Wu P, Wang X, Zhou L, Tong Y . Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia. N Engl J Med. 2020; 382(13):1199-1207. PMC: 7121484. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001316. View

17.

Singh A, Berman A, Marmarelis M, Haas A, Feigenberg S, Braun J . Management of Lung Cancer During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JCO Oncol Pract. 2020; 16(9):579-586. DOI: 10.1200/OP.20.00286. View

18.

Rassy E, Khoury-Abboud R, Ibrahim N, Kattan C, Assi T, Kattan J . What the oncologist needs to know about COVID-19 infection in cancer patients. Future Oncol. 2020; 16(17):1153-1156. PMC: 7192200. DOI: 10.2217/fon-2020-0312. View

19.

The Lancet Oncology . Safeguarding cancer care in a post-COVID-19 world. Lancet Oncol. 2020; 21(5):603. PMC: 7252123. DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30243-6. View

20.

Ma J, Yin J, Qian Y, Wu Y . Clinical characteristics and prognosis in cancer patients with COVID-19: A single center's retrospective study. J Infect. 2020; 81(2):318-356. PMC: 7194544. DOI: 10.1016/j.jinf.2020.04.006. View