COVID-19

February 3, 2021 - Recent progress made with messenger RNA vaccines has led to amplified protein translation, stronger modulation of immunogenicity, and improved delivery, which has all contributed to an evolution in the application of these products in the field of cancer.

February 2, 2021 - ASCO has chosen molecular profiling driving progress in gastointestinal cancers as its Advance of the Year.

January 29, 2021 - Thirty percent fewer new lung cancer cases have been diagnosed during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic versus pre-pandemic, with more symptomatic and severe cases of non–small cell lung cancer diagnosed during this period.

Cindy B. Matsen, MD, discusses the potential effects of the decrease in screening for patients with breast cancer during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

January 28, 2021 - The National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the American Cancer Society are collaborating with cancer organizations nationwide to promote the resumption of cancer screening and treatment during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

All patients with active cancer, or with active, recent, or planned cancer treatment, should be considered highest priority to receive one of the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines that have been granted emergency use authorization from the FDA.

David Cohn, MD, discusses how to approach COVID-19 vaccination in patients with cancer.

As oncologists, we are here to help patients and their families as much as we can. That is why we went into cancer medicine. It is what we do every day. Until the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic knocked on our doors.

Before New Year’s Day, millions of Americans had received the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine, including frontline physicians and health care providers and nursing home patients, our most vulnerable citizens.

As the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic continues to pose challenges, health care providers struggle with decisions on how to balance the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 transmission with the need to treat patients’ underlying conditions.

Matthew T. Campbell, MD, MS, discusses the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in renal cell carcinoma.

For the population of hospitalized patients with cancer, many of whom who have not contracted the disease, COVID-19 has real, immediate consequences; the pandemic has radically altered their end-of-life care.

The coronavirus disease 2019 crisis has changed all aspects of medical education but perhaps altered clinical education most dramatically.

December 18, 2020 - The FDA has granted Emergency Use Authorization to the second vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 infection.

December 17, 2020 - The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee has voted 20-0 with 1 abstention to support the benefit-risk profile associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine mRNA-1273.

December 11, 2020 - The FDA has authorized the first vaccine for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019.

December 10, 2020 - The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee has voted 17-4 with 1 abstention to support the benefit-risk profile associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine BNT162b2.

Spyridoula Vasileiou, PhD, discusses the potential role of ALVR109​, a SARS-CoV-2 virus–specific T-cell therapy, for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019.

December 6, 2020 — Patients with hematologic malignancies are at increased risk for significant morbidity and mortality from coronavirus disease 2019, and the risk of death appeared to be greatest in those who were older, had more severe infection, a poorer prognosis, or who decided to forego intensive treatment

The effector profile of the SARS-CoV-2 virus–specific T-cell therapy, ALVR109, was polyclonal, polyfunctional, and displayed cytolytic activity against viral targets without allogeneic or autologous reactivity, suggesting ALVR109 could be a safe and effective treatment for the coronavirus disease 2019.

Having patients go on drug holidays or intermittent therapy is a common strategy during treatment of prostate cancer and several other malignancies, whether to provide temporary relief from adverse effects influencing quality of life, to prevent long-term health impacts, or to lessen drug resistance that would render the therapy ineffective.

The repercussions of delays in diagnosing cancer, either through screening or the presence of early symptoms, and of required modifications in standard-of-care management paradigms in the COVID-19 era are only now beginning to be fully appreciated.

Nothing about taking care of patients with cancer during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has been easy, but those practices that had already embraced transformation under the Oncology Care Model are finding that its monthly payments and other features offer stability during an unprecedented health emergency.

November 18, 2020 - The addition of the oral BTK inhibitor acalabrutinib to best supportive care in patients with respiratory symptoms from coronavirus disease 2019 infection failed to increase the proportion of patients who remained alive and free of respiratory failure, missing the primary efficacy end points of the 2 phase 2 CALAVI trials.

The Institutional Perspectives in Cancer webinars assemble academic and community-based physicians and healthcare professionals across key disciplines, ranging from medical to surgical oncology.

In our exclusive interview, Dr. Raez discusses the reasons for the declines in routine screening and referrals due to the coronavirus disease 2019, anticipated consequences, and some of the ways in which the health care community can combat these newfound challenges.

Patients on active therapy during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, as well as oncology care providers, have increased levels of perceived and posttraumatic stress, according to preliminary data from the COVIPACT study.

Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, discusses how her explorations of the role of inflammation in patients with cancer translated into critical insights for patients with COVID-19.

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has led to delays in elective and potentially curative surgeries for patients with cT1b-cT2b renal cell carcinoma but research has indicated that surgical delays of up to and beyond 3 months did not result in an increased risk of pT3a upstaging or comprise overall survival.

The oncology community has risen up as a unified front in the battle against coronavirus disease 2019, launching pivotal research efforts to better understand the enemy and collecting data to develop effective therapeutics to fill the treatment arsenal.