Patients with cancer are at a high risk of developing COVID-19 severity including those with leukemia and solid tumors: Being a particularly severe respiratory and systemic infection in aging and immunosuppressed individuals, including patients with cancer, COVID-19 presented a particular risk. Severe COVID-19 can interfere with tumor progression and treatment efficacy. Severe COVID-19 is also linked to an inflammatory cytokine storm and lymphopenia that may exacerbate cancer prognosis. More data on the immune response in cancer patients treated with immunotherapy is needed to fully elucidate the relationship with COVID-19 infection.
Antineoplastic therapies may weaken the immune system and aggravate immunosenescence. Those patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy are at high risk of developing infectious complications, including COVID-19. Meanwhile, the current research on the potential immunosuppressive impact of ICIs in cancer patients is currently inconclusive but they seem to be more tolerable than the hematological toxicities associated with other chemotherapeutic agents. ICIs may have a role in boosting pathogen-specific immune response in contrast to other immune checkpoints agonists. Avoiding the use of ICIs in cancer patients to reduce COVID-19 infections could deprive patients of highly effective treatments.
In this Research Topic, we aim to gain a further understanding of the risk of COVID-19 severity in cancer patients. We also welcome submissions focusing on the effects of various cancer immunotherapies on the immunity of patients regarding COVID-19, and the severity of the disease. We will also welcome submissions that provide insights on the potential roles of cancer, and cancer chemotherapy or immunotherapies in the prognosis and treatment of COVID-19 in patients and vaccine efficacy. On the other hand, COVID-19 risk and severity may bring information on the immune status and the evolution of tumorigenesis or the efficiency of anti-cancer treatment.
We welcome the submission of Original Research, Review, and Mini Review, Clinical Trial, Case Report, Opinion, and Perspective articles covering, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:
• Case reports of cancer patients treated with immunotherapy and infected with SARS-CoV-2
• Reviews of our understanding of the effect of cancer immunotherapy on immune responses to infectious diseases, including SARS-CoV-2
• Novel data providing insight on the effect of various immunotherapies on immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 and severity of diseases in cancer patients
• Efficacy of cancer immunotherapy as a treatment of SARS-CoV-2 in cancer and non-cancer patients
*NOTE: Manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation are considered out of the scope of this Research Topic.
Patients with cancer are at a high risk of developing COVID-19 severity including those with leukemia and solid tumors: Being a particularly severe respiratory and systemic infection in aging and immunosuppressed individuals, including patients with cancer, COVID-19 presented a particular risk. Severe COVID-19 can interfere with tumor progression and treatment efficacy. Severe COVID-19 is also linked to an inflammatory cytokine storm and lymphopenia that may exacerbate cancer prognosis. More data on the immune response in cancer patients treated with immunotherapy is needed to fully elucidate the relationship with COVID-19 infection.
Antineoplastic therapies may weaken the immune system and aggravate immunosenescence. Those patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy are at high risk of developing infectious complications, including COVID-19. Meanwhile, the current research on the potential immunosuppressive impact of ICIs in cancer patients is currently inconclusive but they seem to be more tolerable than the hematological toxicities associated with other chemotherapeutic agents. ICIs may have a role in boosting pathogen-specific immune response in contrast to other immune checkpoints agonists. Avoiding the use of ICIs in cancer patients to reduce COVID-19 infections could deprive patients of highly effective treatments.
In this Research Topic, we aim to gain a further understanding of the risk of COVID-19 severity in cancer patients. We also welcome submissions focusing on the effects of various cancer immunotherapies on the immunity of patients regarding COVID-19, and the severity of the disease. We will also welcome submissions that provide insights on the potential roles of cancer, and cancer chemotherapy or immunotherapies in the prognosis and treatment of COVID-19 in patients and vaccine efficacy. On the other hand, COVID-19 risk and severity may bring information on the immune status and the evolution of tumorigenesis or the efficiency of anti-cancer treatment.
We welcome the submission of Original Research, Review, and Mini Review, Clinical Trial, Case Report, Opinion, and Perspective articles covering, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:
• Case reports of cancer patients treated with immunotherapy and infected with SARS-CoV-2
• Reviews of our understanding of the effect of cancer immunotherapy on immune responses to infectious diseases, including SARS-CoV-2
• Novel data providing insight on the effect of various immunotherapies on immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 and severity of diseases in cancer patients
• Efficacy of cancer immunotherapy as a treatment of SARS-CoV-2 in cancer and non-cancer patients
*NOTE: Manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation are considered out of the scope of this Research Topic.
