“Cancer patients more susceptible to infections due to systemic immunosuppressive state caused by malignancy and anticancer therapy – said Ilya Timofeyev. – It is known that many types of drug treatment, particularly during chemotherapy, adversely affect the function of white blood cells, exerting an immunosuppressive action. Performed surgery – another risk factor for developing infections. Consequently, these patients may have an increased risk of severe COVID-19 and, consequently, a worse prognosis”.
Doctors found saving COVID-19 in the body
Chinese scientists analyzed the course of the disease COVID-19 in cancer patients. The results of this study published in the journal Lancet Oncology. “First 1590 cases of coronavirus in China 18 (1%) patients had malignant neoplasms. Moreover, lung cancer was the most frequent tumors (28 per cent), – said Ilya Timofeyev. Four patients received anticancer treatment within the last month before the moment of infection, the rest were conventionally recovered after surgical treatment. When compared with non-cancer patients cancer patients were older, more often smoked, had tachypnea (rapid and deep breathing), more pronounced signs of changes on CT. Differences by sex were not, as well as other symptoms, accompanying diseases, the source changes on radiographs”.
Ilya Timofeev stressed that according to Chinese physicians, the cancer patients had higher frequency of severe events (39 percent) requiring a stay in the ICU, mechanical ventilation or led to death, compared with patients without cancer (such 8 per cent of severe). In addition, patients who received chemotherapy or surgery last month, had a numerically higher risk (75% of cases) clinically severe events than those who had not received chemotherapy or surgery (43%).
Thus, the researchers conclude that cancer patients have a more severe course of the disease COVID-19, combined with a high risk of complications, – said Ilya Timofeyev. He stressed how important it is in terms of the spread of coronavirus to take special precautions to reduce the risk of infection by patients with cancer, and being close to family members and caring people.
In Britain, in cancer patients with COVID-19 suspend specific therapy and transfer the assigned surgical intervention to cure the infection.
the head physician of the Moscow hospital told of patients with COVID-19
“In our hospital specific drug therapy in cancer patients with COVID-19 stops, including systemic biological therapy and immunosuppressive chemotherapy. Drug treatment is resumed only when the patient is completely healthy and the test COVID-19 will be negative. Any patients with suspected infection are not receiving antitumor therapy until a confirmed negative result. Testing for coronavirus has its own PCR test within the hospital. The laboratory is obliged to report the result within 24 hours”, – told Olga About Conner,” the doctor cuupnogo British hospital St George”s Hospital, London, UK. She also reported that anti-cancer drug treatment in asymptomatic patients is ongoing in a day hospital or outpatient Department, but if during therapy revealed that the patient has symptoms (cough, fever, shortness of breath) coronavirus, the patient is isolated, antitumor treatment is canceled and the analysis is performed on COVID-19.
Ilya Timofeev considers that it is necessary to weigh the risk-benefit of antitumor therapy in the period of coronavirus infection: “it is Impossible to close all branches of chemotherapy and wait until the epidemiological situation will be better. We don’t know how long this will last, but the sick, for example, metastatic gastric cancer, or kidney cancer with a poor prognosis to wait. Without medication they can die in 3-5 months. That is, for many cancer patients the risk of death from cancer is higher potential risk of death from virus.”
