Department of Medicine, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Elm and Carlton Street, Buffalo, NY, 14263, USA.
Department of Medicine, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
Curr Oncol Rep. 2020 May 8;22(5):53. doi: 10.1007/s11912-020-00934-7.
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged to be the biggest global health threat worldwide, which has now infected over 1.7 million people and claimed more than 100,000 lives around the world. Under these unprecedented circumstances, there are no well-established guidelines for cancer patients.
The risk for serious disease and death in COVID-19 cases increases with advancing age and presence of comorbid health conditions. Since the emergence of the first case in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, tremendous research efforts have been underway to understand the mechanisms of infectivity and transmissibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), a fatal virus responsible for abysmal survival outcomes. To minimize the mortality rate, it becomes prudent to identify symptoms promptly and employ treatments appropriately. Even though no cure has been established, multiple clinical trials are underway to determine the most optimal strategy. Managing cancer patients under these circumstances is rather challenging, given their vulnerable status and the aggressive nature of their underlying disease. In this comprehensive review, we discuss the impact of COVID-19 on health and the immune system of those affected, reviewing the latest treatment approaches and ongoing clinical trials. Additionally, we discuss challenges faced while treating cancer patients and propose potential approaches to manage this vulnerable population during this pandemic.
新型冠状病毒病 2019（COVID-19）的爆发已成为全球最大的健康威胁，目前已感染全球超过 170 万人，造成超过 10 万人死亡。在这种前所未有的情况下，癌症患者没有既定的治疗指南。
COVID-19 病例中严重疾病和死亡的风险随着年龄的增长和合并症的存在而增加。自 2019 年 12 月中国武汉首例病例出现以来，人们一直在进行大量研究，以了解严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒-2（SARS-CoV-2）的感染和传播机制，这种致命病毒导致了悲惨的生存结局。为了最大限度地降低死亡率，及时识别症状并进行适当的治疗是明智之举。尽管尚未建立治愈方法，但正在进行多项临床试验以确定最佳策略。在这种情况下，管理癌症患者极具挑战性，因为他们的脆弱状况和潜在疾病的侵袭性。在本次全面综述中，我们讨论了 COVID-19 对受感染者健康和免疫系统的影响，回顾了最新的治疗方法和正在进行的临床试验。此外，我们还讨论了在治疗癌症患者时面临的挑战，并提出了在大流行期间管理这一脆弱人群的潜在方法。
