Treating severe COVID-19 in cancer patients

Abstract

The high fatality rate of COVID-19 pneumonia, especially in imuno-compromised high risk patient populations, like those with hematologic malignancies or solid tumors who are receiving or have recently received immune-suppressive chemotherapy, has triggered a global search for effective therapies that can stop or reverse the inflammatory process that causes the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multi-organ failure after development of the pulmonary inflammation. This article summarizes the available risk mitigation strategies based on the insights and lessons learned from clinical trials in cancer patients in which a similar fulminant and systemic inflammatory process, known as the cytokine release syndrome (CRS) has been encountered. *Correspondence to: Fatih M. Uckun, MD, PhD, Vice President and Clinical Strategy Lead, Oncology and Hematology, Wordwide Clinical Trials, 480 E. Swedesford Road Suite 200, Wayne, PA 19087, USA. E-mail: fatih.uckun@ worldwide.com