Impact of Covid-19 in Cancer Patients Treated with Immunotherapy: A Review

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has been a devastating disease worldwide. Although an important number of young healthy people have been affected, elderly, comorbid and immunosuppressed patients have been especially compromised. Cancer patients usually share several of these features, being considered high risk population. Limited reliable information about cancer patients and COVID-19 are available, especially concerning to the risk that oncological therapies could involve. Immunotherapy is a novel therapy extensively used in oncology. Even though it is not a myelosuppressive treatment, its safety use in this context is unknown. Immunotherapy boosts immune system, mainly cytotoxic T cell response. This suggests that could have a favourable role in viral elimination. However, concerns about a detrimental influence have been discuss in oncological community. Most severe COVID-19 patients usually develop an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) secondary to a cytokine-release syndrome (CRS). Therefore, exacerbation of an inappropriate and excessive immune response secondary to these therapies is feared. Currently there are not evidence which confirms neither of these hypotheses. Further studies are needed to improve prognosis in these patients.